Which mannequin must you purchase?

Unique launch date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Display screen measurement: 6.3 inches | Options: A18 Professional chip, All the time-on 120Hz ProMotion show, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium body, Digital camera Management button, Motion button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP large, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP entrance | Colour choices: Pure Titanium, Desert, White, Black | Dimensions: 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches | Weight: 7.03 ounces

Learn our full iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max review

The iPhone 16 Pro is the iPhone we’d advocate to most individuals. Sure, its beginning value of $999 is perhaps steep, however a smartphone is a long-term funding. If the query is “which iPhone is most certainly to maintain you cheerful for the subsequent three to 5 years,” we expect the iPhone 16 Professional’s benefits over the usual iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are nonetheless significant sufficient to be value the additional $100-200 — even when the hole isn’t as large because it’s been in years previous.

For one, the iPhone 16 Professional’s blasted titanium body feels higher-quality than the aluminum one on the bottom iPhone 16. It’s a bit heavier than the usual 16 and the older iPhone 15 Professional, but it surely’s removed from an anchor, and its barely curved edges are pleasing to carry. It runs on the marginally sooner A18 Professional chip, which doesn’t make an enormous distinction with on a regular basis duties however is extra future-proof all the identical, notably when you’ve got any curiosity in gaming or content material creation. And whereas each iPhone 16 has a USB-C charging port, the Professional fashions help sooner knowledge switch speeds (supplied you will have the correct cable).

Probably the most outstanding improve is the show. Whereas the OLED panels on the iPhone 16 Professional and commonplace iPhone 16 are equally sharp and shiny, the previous’s is extra spacious at 6.3 inches (as a substitute of 6.1 inches), regardless of the telephone itself solely being 0.08 inches taller and 0.02 inches thicker. That is primarily because of the Professional’s thinner bezels, which grant you extra room for streaming movies and studying net pages in a tool that isn’t considerably extra cumbersome to carry.  

On high of that, the Professional’s display screen has an adaptive refresh price as much as 120Hz, which may make scrolling net pages, gaming and streaming video noticeably smoother. Some will inform you that the typical individual doesn’t want this, and it’s true that not all the things performs at 120Hz. However utilizing a smartphone is nothing if not interacting with a small display screen, and when you’ve seen a sooner refresh price in motion, it’s tough to surrender.

It’s a irritating state of affairs: You will get a budget Android phone with a 120Hz show for round $300, but Apple continues to make use of “ProMotion” as a approach to upsell folks from gadgets that already price a whole lot extra. However, our job is to inform you what’s finest — and the Professional’s show is just extra fashionable. It’s additionally always-on, not like the screens on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, so you’ll be able to view your notifications at a look with out having to bodily contact the gadget.

One other step up is the digital camera system. The iPhone 16 Professional has a trio of rear cameras: a 48-megapixel primary digital camera, a 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto digital camera. That final one is the biggie, because the common iPhone 16 lacks a devoted telephoto lens fully. Past that, the Professional’s primary digital camera has a bigger sensor, so it’s a bit higher in low-light environments, plus it helps portrait mode at night time. You possibly can take sharper macro shots for close-ups, and there are different fanatic options like the power to shoot ProRAW or report 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient and ProRes video as much as 120 frames per second. 

If none of this jargon means something to you, know the common iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are nonetheless nice point-and-shoot cameras. These gadgets can now take macro pictures as nicely, plus they’ve the identical upgraded Photographic Styles function that may assist contact up pictures it’s possible you’ll discover overprocessed. In addition they share the brand new Camera Control button for shortly (if generally awkwardly) accessing the digital camera app, adjusting settings and snapping pics. All that mentioned, the 16 Professional is healthier, particularly in the event you take your pictures with a little bit extra intent.

The Professional will get barely higher battery life as nicely, although it’s not the longest-lasting smartphone we’ve examined. Apple charges it at as much as 27 hours of video playback, up from 22 hours with the usual iPhone 16, however each gadgets will possible want a top-up earlier than you go to mattress. The bottom mannequin’s battery is easier to replace, too, which is aggravating for Professional homeowners given the upper value. 

Apple could be very bluntly promoting every iPhone 16 on how nicely they’ll work with its new “Apple Intelligence” AI features, however you shouldn’t base any buying choices on these proper now. As of this writing, the methods embody a touch extra sturdy Siri, ChatGPT integration, e mail and notification summaries, writing assistance and image generation instruments, a Clean Up function that may take away undesirable objects from pictures (very like Google’s Magic Eraser) and a “Genmoji” customized emoji maker, amongst others. Extra updates will arrive over time. 

A few of these AI options might be helpful at factors; different instances… not so much. Little about them will really change the way in which you employ a smartphone as we speak, and whether or not anybody actually wants them to put in writing a paragraph-long e mail or learn a short article is up for debate (to place it charitably). For now, it is perhaps finest to view Apple Intelligence as an intriguing first step towards a future that will or might not be realized down the highway.

Unique launch date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capability: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Display screen measurement: 6.9 inches | Options: A18 Professional chip, All the time-on 120Hz ProMotion show, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium body, Digital camera Management, Motion button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP large, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP entrance | Colour choices: Pure Titanium, Desert, White, Black | Dimensions: 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches | Weight: 7.99 ounces

Would you like a bigger gadget than the iPhone 16 Professional? Are you keen to commerce pocketability for longer battery life? Are you cool with spending a minimum of $1,199 on a smartphone? In case your reply to these questions is “sure,” skip the 16 Professional and get the iPhone 16 Pro Max as a substitute.

It has all the identical advantages of our high decide, however with a roomier 6.9-inch show and the longest-lasting battery of any iPhone. It may well final nearer to 2 days per cost, whereas the smaller Professional is extra prone to faucet out round sooner or later. It additionally begins with 256GB of storage, which doubles that of the Professional and helps justify the elevated price a minimum of considerably.

The draw back is that it’s a tank. The iPhone 15 Professional Max wasn’t precisely tiny, and this newest mannequin is barely taller and wider, so that you’ll most likely want two palms to function it comfortably in case your mitts aren’t on the bigger aspect. In the end, we’re assuming that most individuals would like the extra hand- and pocket-friendly measurement of the common 6.3-inch Professional, even when it means sacrificing a half-day or extra of battery life. That’s a better name to make now that there’s no distinction between the 2 telephones’ digital camera setups. However in the event you simply need the largest beast of an iPhone, the 16 Professional Max is it.

Unique launch date: February 28, 2025 | Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Display screen measurement: 6.1 inches | Options: A18 chip (4-core GPU), 60Hz show, USB-C port (USB 2), Aluminum body, Motion button, 7.5W Qi wi-fi charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP rear, 12MP entrance | Colour choices: White, Black | Dimensions: 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches | Weight: 5.88 ounces

Learn our full iPhone 16e review

Right here’s the truth: There’s no such factor as a real finances iPhone in 2025. The $429 iPhone SE was the closest factor Apple needed to a value-oriented mannequin coming into the 12 months, but it surely was formally discontinued in February, and its severely outdated design made it tough to advocate lengthy earlier than that. The new iPhone 16e is the SE’s ostensible alternative, but it surely prices $599, nicely above what anybody may name “inexpensive” when there are such a lot of genuinely first rate Android telephones that promote for a whole lot of {dollars} much less.

So after we advocate the iPhone 16e on this spot, consider it much less like a finances decide and extra like “the most affordable competent iPhone you’ll be able to reliably purchase.” It’s simple to see the way it may very well be higher, but it surely nonetheless will get you most of what makes the iPhone expertise worthwhile. It appears and feels rather more substantial than the outdated iPhone SE, with a bigger and extra vivid 6.1-inch OLED show, cleaner traces and flat aluminum edges. Its A18 chip is almost the identical because the one in the usual iPhone 16, simply with one fewer GPU core; both approach, it’s highly effective sufficient to run Apple Intelligence and most video games advantageous. Its battery life is incredible, with a good increased video playback ranking (26 hours) than the bottom iPhone 16. It has a USB-C port, Face ID and the programmable Action button. Most significantly, it’s the least costly route into iMessage, Apple Pay, FaceTime, AirPlay and all the opposite iOS perks locked in Apple’s walled backyard, for higher or worse.

Nevertheless, the usual iPhone 16 does convey significant upgrades for $200 extra. The primary one is a greater digital camera setup, because it has a second, 12MP ultrawide lens and a bigger primary sensor with higher picture stabilization. The 16e’s single-camera system remains to be completely advantageous for many conditions, however night time pictures look softer, portraits are a bit blurrier and there’s no macro mode. Annoyingly, the iPhone 16e additionally lacks MagSafe, locking it out of a number of useful accessories, and it’s restricted to gradual 7.5W wi-fi charging. There’s no ultra-wideband chip to extra precisely locate AirTags, and the usual iPhone 16’s show can get brighter. (Each are caught at 60Hz, although.) That display screen additionally has the Dynamic Island, which makes it simpler to verify timers, Uber ETAs, sports activities scores and the like at a look. The 16e, by comparability, has the static “notch” from older iPhones. The usual 16 can be out there in additional colours, whereas the 16e solely is available in a extra primary black or white.

In some ways, the iPhone 16e feels prefer it was designed backwards to make the common iPhone 16 appear to be a greater worth. However, in the event you can afford an iPhone 16 or 16 Plus however can’t spend one other $200 or $300 for a 16 Professional or 16 Professional Max, you must nonetheless get one of many base fashions over the 16e.

Actually, cut price hunters ought to look to the refurbished market for reductions on older iPhones first. If you will discover an iPhone 15 from a good vendor for $100+ lower than the 16e, that’d be ultimate, because it provides lots of the 16’s core upgrades and something older received’t have a USB-C port. When you see an iPhone 15 Pro across the similar value, it’s no contest — that one is healthier than the 16e just about throughout the board. However even a refurbished 15 is unlikely to be all that low cost, and each older iPhone will inevitably lose replace help sooner. Nonetheless, which may not matter a lot in the event you simply need an Apple telephone for primary iOS issues and may discover an appropriate price-to-storage ratio. Profiting from trade-in offers or, to a lesser extent, month-to-month installment plans that decrease upfront prices appears particularly prudent as of late as nicely. 

Because it stands now, the shortage of a aggressive finances mannequin within the iPhone lineup is disappointing, and it seems that won’t change anytime quickly. Apple will likely be Apple. However in the event you simply need to stroll into an Apple retailer and purchase an iPhone that works, the 16e is ok sufficient, even when it isn’t a slam-dunk worth.