In recent years, Apple has started giving the iPhone Pro models significant chip upgrades to increase the performance gap between the phones, but this year they’re all back to the same starting point: the A18 chipset. The iPhone 16 Pro devices feature the A18 Pro, which boasts larger CPU cache sizes and an extra graphics score for slightly better overall performance. That said, in my benchmark tests, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are right behind the Pros and still more powerful than any other phone on the market.
I played AAA games like resident Evil and Mirage from Assassin’s CreedAlthough I did encounter a few more stutters than the Pro models (and the same number of crashes, though this could have been because I was running a developer beta of iOS 18.1). I do want to point out that these games are currently top of the range in graphical fidelity, which is why I’m purposely stress testing them. Most of the titles you’ll play will run perfectly fine. This year’s Pro models have improved thermal performance, but Apple made some tweaks to improve heat dissipation on the standard iPhones as well, and I haven’t noticed the phones getting significantly warmer.
Most importantly, all iPhone 16 models will be able to run Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI features coming in an update in October. I go over exactly what Apple Intelligence includes in my iOS 18 guide, and I’ve extensively evaluated the current experience in my iPhone 16 Pro review. There are some useful day-to-day features, like real-time transcriptions in Voice Memos or call recordings, but we’ll have to wait until Apple brings the full kit.
Battery life is a plus. I managed to get better battery life on the iPhone 16 Plus than the Pro Max, hitting over 7 hours of screen-on time with 36 percent left in the tank at 1 a.m. The iPhone 16 is no slouch, giving me 6 hours of screen-on time with around 20 percent left. And that’s with a mix of Instagram browsing, photo capturing, browsing, and music streaming. These devices will last you a full day and then some. Speaking of the battery, it’s easier to replace on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus (not the Pro models), and iFixit gave it a 10 rating. 7/10 in general repairabilitywhich is a great improvement compared to previous years.
It’s a shame Apple hasn’t updated the charging port specs. When Apple switched to USB-C last year, it kept the same data transfer speeds for the iPhone 15: 480 megabits per second. The Pro, on the other hand, has USB3 speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second. It’s a huge (and unnecessary) difference, but this only matters if you find yourself moving files from your iPhone to another device with a cable.
Good cameras
Photography: Julian Chokkattu
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus excel in the photography department. I found no significant differences even in low light when shooting with the main and ultra-wide cameras. The Pro phones outperform them in some ways, but the difference is small. Autofocus is new on the 12MP ultra-wide, so you can take macro photos. I can’t stop taking close-ups of my pup’s nose. Boo!