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While us here at Phandroid know no limits to our love for Android devices, there are times when even we have to admit that Apple’s iPhones do a pretty good job at setting themselves apart from the competition. Take for example the iPhone 16 Pro series, which were recently announced today – on the surface, Apple’s new phones might not seem that different from previous iterations (as is the case nearly every year), but Apple has added some upgrades this time around which make them ideal for certain users out there.
As such, you might be on the fence about getting one. Maybe you’re someone who’s toying with the idea of switching sides, or maybe you’re an iPhone user with a much older device, or even a fairly recent model like the iPhone 14 Pro. So what does Apple’s new Pro phones have that make them worth their steep pricing?
For one, let’s take a look at the camera control button – it’s not a new concept by any means, as current phones like the Xperia series and even older Nokia Lumia phones have had dedicated camera shutter buttons from back in the day. While it might be another feature that Apple introduces as something “new” to its fans, it has added some new tricks such as the ability to adjust settings on the fly via a capacitive touch feature.
In addition to the two-stage press (which comes later this year, strangely), users can also swipe their finger on the button to adjust settings such as zoom and depth of field for example. It’s a handy feature to have and does build on existing hardware in a practical way. Users can also press and hold on the button to activate an AI-powered image search feature that works similarly to Android’s Circle to Search, albeit using a hardware-based approach.
Apple also leans on wooing content creators with the 16 Pro – iPhones have mostly been impressive when it comes to video capture, and the same can be said for the this year’s models. The phone’s 48MP “Fusion camera” packs a quad-pixel sensor that allows users to record videos in 4K resolution at 120fps, with Dolby Vision support; there’s also compatibility with the company’s Vision Pro headset, as the 16 Pro will be able to record spatial videos with a fancy depth effect. For photos, real-time Photographic Style adjustments are a welcome feature, and new additions like layered voice notes come into play, a handy tool for creatives.
There’s also the new A18 Pro chip inside. Apple seems pretty confident of the 3nm chip’s upgrades, which include hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a 16-core neural engine, as well as a 6-core GPU. The iPhone 16 Pro models are also able to play full-on AAA games like Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil 7, which aren’t natively playable on other smartphones.
It makes sense to upgrade if you’re coming from a much older device for example, like the 13 Pro… although one could argue that reduced prices with trade-in deals might make for a tempting offer on the 16 Pro.
Of course with all this said, is the 16 Pro truly worth it? If you own a recent model like the 15 Pro, unless you’re after Apple’s new camera tricks (which mostly seem to be the main marketing point of the new devices) or upcoming compatibility with Apple’s AI features, then you might want to skip out this year. It makes sense to upgrade if you’re coming from a much older device for example, like the 13 Pro and such, although one could argue that reduced prices with trade-in deals might make for a tempting offer on the 16 Pro.
Still, as “predictable” as they might seem, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max surprisingly get things right, at least with the parts that matter.
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