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topicnews · September 3, 2024

Apple iPhone 16 Pro preview: A big upgrade for the small iPhone Pro

Apple iPhone 16 Pro preview: A big upgrade for the small iPhone Pro

iPhone 16 Pro – Introduction

The iPhone 16 Pro is just around the corner and it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest overhauls of the compact Pro model in years.
Apple will officially unveil the iPhone 16 family in a few days, on Monday, September 9, but there are already numerous leaks and rumors that paint an almost complete picture.

With the iPhone 16 ProApple makes a splash with a slightly larger 6.3-inch form factor and adds a number of camera improvements, including a new 5x zoom camera, a better ultra-wide-angle camera, and a new record button.

Most importantly, the phone gets a new chipset that is optimized for the new Apple Intelligence features that will be introduced in the coming months. Oh, and did we mention that the iPhone 16 Pro could get a bigger battery and finally charge faster? Let’s talk more about it.

Table of contents:

iPhone 16 Pro Specifications

Let us first take a look at the iPhone 16 Pro Specifications and what has changed compared to before:

iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 14 Pro
Size and weight
149.6×71.5×8.25mm
194g		 Size and weight
146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25mm
187g		 Size and weight
147.5 x 71.5 x 7.9mm
206g
Screen
6.3 inches
OLED
120Hz		 Screen
6.1 inches
OLED
120Hz		 Screen
6.1 inches
OLED
120Hz
processor
Apple A18 Pro
New 3nm technology		 processor
Apple A17 Pro
3nm		 processor
Apple A16 Bionic
4nm
Configurations
8/128GB for $1,000
8/256GB for $1,100
8/512GB for $1,300
8/1TB for $1,500
*expected		 Configurations
8/128GB for $1,000
8/256GB for $1,100
8/512GB for $1,300
8/1TB for $1,500 		Configurations
6/128GB
6/256GB
6/512GB
6/1TB
Cameras
48MP Main
48 MP ultra wide angle
12 megapixels, 5x zoom

12MP front

 Cameras
48MP Main
12 MP ultra wide angle
12MP, 3x zoom

12MP front

Cameras
48MP Main
12 MP ultra wide angle
12MP, 3x zoom

12MP front
battery
3,577mAh
+9.2% compared to 15 percent		 battery
3,274mAh		 battery
3,200mAh
Load
40W wired
20W MagSafe		 Load
20W wired
15W MagSafe		 Load
20W wired
15W MagSafe

iPhone 16 Pro design and display

New recording button and slightly larger housing

The iPhone 16 Pro largely remains true to the familiar iPhone design language of recent years with flat sides and a camera island in the upper left corner.

However, this is the first Pro model with a larger screen since the iPhone 12 Pro. The 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, compared to a 6.1-inch display on the last few generations (12 Pro to 15 Pro), which is an increase from the 5.8-inch display on the iPhone X through the iPhone 11 Pro.

This makes sense as people are more dependent on their phones and a larger screen means an improved experience.

Because of this increase in size, the 16 Pro is no longer as small as the 15 Pro, but the difference is quite small and the 16 Pro still remains quite compact. In fact, the 16 Pro is expected to be the same width as the iPhone 14 Pro from two years ago, and only slightly taller.

This is made possible by narrower bezels around the screen.

In terms of materials, we expect the same titanium frame as last year with the Ceramic Shield on the front, and you should still have the IP68 water and dust resistance rating as well as a USB-C port for charging.

What’s new is the capture button that appears below the power button. It’s a capacitive button, so it won’t be accidentally triggered in your pocket. It supports half and full presses, much like the shutter button on a real camera. However, its superpower is that it works like a sort of mini trackpad, so you can swipe on it to zoom in and out or control background blur for portraits or other features. Its functionality is limited to camera apps only, but we love this addition and remember that it will be available not just on the 16 Pro, but on everyone. iPhone16 models.

In terms of color, we expect four colorways:

  • Graphite / Space Black
  • Silver
  • White
  • Rose / Bronze

Unboxing the 16 Pro doesn’t change much – you get the phone and a USB-C charging cable in the box, but not the charger itself or any cases or screen protectors. It’s all pretty spartan.

And what about the new 6.3-inch screen? We mentioned the slightly larger size and narrower bezels around the screen, but it could also simply be a brighter display, going from 1,000 nits of typical maximum brightness to 1,200 nits.

Unfortunately, we don’t expect the cool anti-reflective coating that really impressed us on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, so the iPhone 16 Pro will still reflect more strongly outdoors.

There are also no changes on Dynamic Island; the familiar Face ID system is still installed there.

iPhone 16 Pro Camera

A brand new 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5x zoom camera

According to several leaks, the camera system of the 16 Pro will be significantly improved.

First, the main camera will mainly benefit from improved software processing, but the hardware should remain the same with a 48MP sensor that supports lossless 2x zoom through sensor crop.

But the ultra-wide camera gets its biggest upgrade in years with a new 48-megapixel sensor, which was previously 12 megapixels. This enables quad-pixel binning for better low-light shots, but you can also capture more detail and shoot at the full 48 megapixels if you prefer.

The telephoto camera also gets upgraded from 3x zoom to a longer-range 5x tetraprism lens. We saw the same 5x camera on the 15 Pro Max last year, and now it’s coming to the 16 Pro. And that’s great for taking pictures of your kid at a concert or far-away objects in general.

Apple is also rumored to be introducing a new JPEG XL format, which we believe will provide better quality, but we don’t have any further details on this yet.

There’s also a major new feature on the video side: high-quality slow motion! Rumor has it that the 16 Pro will support 3K120 resolution, which looks much sharper than the current 1080p120. This is really impressive, as even some professional cameras don’t support slow motion beyond 1080p, and creatives will be very happy about this addition.

We’ll be going into much more detail soon with camera examples and comparisons, so check back here in a few weeks.

Last but not least, the photo editing experience will change with many new AI features. iOS 18.1 brings us the new “Clean Up” tool in Photos, which lets you easily remove objects, similar to Google’s Magic Eraser feature. Apple has added some nice animations, and while the results aren’t always perfect, it’s a really cool tool.

iPhone 16 Pro performance and benchmarks

A new chip with a focus on AI

The 16 Pro also gets a new Apple A18 Pro chipset, which is expected to be based on the more advanced 3nm technology from leading manufacturer TSMC. And that’s good news, because the 15 Pro was based on the first generation of this technology and didn’t get to take full advantage, so we’re hoping to see significant performance improvements this year.

The big topic, however, will be AI.

We’ve yet to see how the 16 Pro fares in this regard and how Apple will measure this performance. We’ll add more details here immediately after the official announcement on September 9, so check back then.

Unfortunately, no changes to the storage situation are planned, which means that you will continue to have a base iPhone 16 Pro Model with 128GB of storage. We would have loved if Apple had increased this to 256GB instead of charging users an extra $100 for this storage upgrade.

We don’t yet know the price breakdown for all models, but we hope that prices will remain the same, with the base version starting at $1,000 (although a slight price increase remains possible).

iPhone 16 Pro-Software

Previously, it was said that saying the magic word “AI” three times would bring you a Google Pixel phone, but now it seems to be an iPhone.

The iPhone 16 Pro will focus on new AI features, and that will be super important as the iPhone 14 Pro Series and older models do not support AI. Apple obviously wants owners of older models to upgrade, and AI is the main reason for that.

It is currently expected that the iPhone16 Series starts with iOS18and the first major AI features will come with iOS18.1 a few weeks later.

But the AI ​​features that will really make a difference are coming later. ChatGPT integration, for example, is expected to be available by the end of the year, and a completely redesigned Siri could arrive next year.

We expect to hear more details about Apple’s launch at the event and will update this section shortly.

iPhone 16 Pro battery

Bigger battery, faster charging

The larger size of the 16 Pro has one big advantage – you can fit a larger battery.

And rumor has it that Apple has done just that.

The iPhone 16 Pro is said to have a 3,577mAh battery, a solid 9% increase over the 15 Pro’s 3,274mAh battery. If true, this jump would be the biggest among all iPhone16 models, so great news for the Pro.

Apple officially claims 23 hours of video playback time for the 15 Pro (the same goes for the 14 Pro). Let’s see if the 16 Pro hits a higher number.

Apple is also the only company that has stubbornly stuck to slower charging for years, and we assume it did so out of an over-cautionary approach.

But the iPhone 16 Pro That might finally change, as rumors suggest there will be 40W wired charging (up from 25W) and 20W MagSafe wireless charging (up from 15W). That would be great, but keep in mind that you may need to buy new chargers to take advantage of those faster speeds.

Summary

With its larger size, a slightly larger battery, improved cameras, faster charging and, above all, new AI features, the iPhone 16 Pro looks like a big upgrade. Maybe even the biggest in the iPhone16 Family.

We’ll have to wait and see if all of these rumors come to fruition come Monday, but if they do, iPhone Pro fans could be in for a treat. Check back here in a week for the official news, and in the meantime, tell us which new device you like best. iPhone 16 Pro Function? And what would motivate you to upgrade?

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