Which model should you buy?

Unique launch date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Display screen dimension: 6.3 inches | Options: A18 Professional chip, At all times-on 120Hz ProMotion show, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium body, Digicam Management button, Motion button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP extensive, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP entrance | Shade 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 suggest 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 probably to maintain you cheerful for the following 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 price the additional $100-200 — even when the hole isn’t as extensive 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, nevertheless it’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, significantly if in case you have 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’ve gotten the precise cable).

Essentially the most distinguished improve is the show. Whereas the OLED screens on the iPhone 16 Professional and customary 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 prime of that, the Professional’s display screen has an adaptive refresh price as much as 120Hz, which might make scrolling net pages, gaming and streaming video noticeably smoother. Some will let you know that the typical particular person doesn’t want this, and it’s true that not all the pieces 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 troublesome 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 method to upsell individuals from units that already price a whole bunch extra. Nonetheless, our job is to let you know what’s greatest — and the Professional’s display screen is solely extra trendy. It’s additionally an always-on show, in contrast to the panels 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 digicam system. The iPhone 16 Professional has a trio of rear cameras: a 48-megapixel major digicam, a 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto digicam. That final one is the biggie, because the common iPhone 16 lacks a devoted telephoto lens solely. Past that, the Professional’s major digicam 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 file 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 units can now take macro photographs as properly, plus they’ve the identical upgraded Photographic Styles characteristic that may assist contact up pictures it’s possible you’ll discover overprocessed. In addition they share the Camera Control button for rapidly (if typically awkwardly) accessing the digicam app, adjusting settings and snapping pics. All that mentioned, the 16 Professional is healthier, particularly should you take your photographs with just a little extra intent.

The Professional will get barely higher battery life as properly, 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 units will seemingly 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 may be very bluntly promoting every iPhone 16 on how properly they’ll work with its new “Apple Intelligence” AI features, however you shouldn’t base any buying choices on that performance proper now. As of this writing, the methods embody a touch extra strong Siri, ChatGPT integration, e mail and notification summaries, writing assistance and image generation instruments, a Clean Up characteristic that may take away undesirable objects from photographs (very similar to Google’s Magic Eraser) and a “Genmoji” customized emoji maker, amongst others. Extra updates will arrive over time. 

A few of these AI options will be helpful at factors; different instances… not so much. Little about them will really change the way in which you employ a smartphone at the moment, and whether or not anybody actually wants them to write down a paragraph-long e mail or learn a quick article is up for debate (to place it charitably). For now, it is perhaps greatest 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 dimension: 6.9 inches | Options: A18 Professional chip, At all times-on 120Hz ProMotion show, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium body, Digicam Management, Motion button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP extensive, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP entrance | Shade 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 at the least $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 prime decide, however with a roomier 6.9-inch show and the longest-lasting battery of any iPhone. It may possibly final nearer to 2 days per cost, whereas the smaller Professional is extra prone to faucet out round someday. It additionally begins with 256GB of storage, which doubles that of the Professional and helps justify the elevated price at the least 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 fingers to function it comfortably in case your mitts aren’t on the bigger aspect. In the end, we’re assuming that most individuals would favor the extra hand- and pocket-friendly dimension of the common 6.3-inch Professional, even when it means sacrificing a half-day or extra of battery life. That’s a neater name to make now that there’s no distinction between the 2 telephones’ digicam setups. However should 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 dimension: 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 | Shade 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 fact: There’s no such factor as a real funds iPhone in 2025. The $429 iPhone SE was the closest factor Apple needed to a value-oriented mannequin coming into the yr, nevertheless it was formally discontinued in February, and its severely outdated design made it troublesome to suggest lengthy earlier than that. The new iPhone 16e is the SE’s ostensible alternative, nevertheless it prices $599, properly above what anybody might name “reasonably priced” when there are such a lot of genuinely first rate Android telephones that promote for a whole bunch of {dollars} much less.

So after we suggest the iPhone 16e on this spot, consider it much less like a funds decide and extra like “the most affordable competent iPhone you’ll be able to reliably purchase.” It’s straightforward to see the way it may very well be higher, nevertheless it nonetheless will get you most of what makes the iPhone expertise worthwhile. It appears to be like and feels way more substantial than the previous iPhone SE, with a bigger and extra vivid 6.1-inch OLED show, cleaner strains 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 means, it’s highly effective sufficient to run Apple Intelligence and most video games high-quality. Its battery life is implausible, with a fair larger video playback score (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.

Nonetheless, the usual iPhone 16 does carry significant upgrades for $200 extra. The principle one is a greater digicam setup, because it has a second, 12MP ultrawide lens and a bigger major sensor with higher picture stabilization. The 16e’s single-camera system continues to be completely high-quality 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 examine 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 accessible 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. Nonetheless, should 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 need to nonetheless get one of many base fashions over the 16e.

Actually, discount hunters ought to look to the refurbished market for reductions on older iPhones first. If you could find an iPhone 15 from a good vendor for $100+ lower than the 16e, that’d be best, because it gives lots of the 16’s core upgrades and something older gained’t have a USB-C port. When you see an iPhone 15 Pro across the identical 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 should you simply need an Apple telephone for primary iOS issues and may discover an appropriate price-to-storage ratio. Benefiting 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 properly. 

Because it stands now, the shortage of a aggressive funds mannequin within the iPhone lineup is disappointing, and it seems that won’t change anytime quickly. Apple can be Apple. However should 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.