Apple announces iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro

Apple has announced the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, which both include a dedicated 'Camera Control' button.

The new flagships from Cupertino get the A18 Pro system-on-a-chip, and larger displays - the largest iPhone display ever in fact. The 16 Pro has a 16cm screen, and the Pro Max's screen is 17.5cm.

Apple says the durable titanium design used in the new smartphones is strong yet lightweight, with the thinnest borders on any Apple product, and a huge leap in battery life — with iPhone 16 Pro Max purportedly offering the best battery life on iPhone ever.

Apple says that both smartphones achieve the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on iPhone, along with a two-times faster readout than the previous version, allowing for 'no shutter lag.'

The cameras

The new smartphones are built around a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster quad-pixel sensor that enables 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision.

There's also a new 48MP Ultra Wide camera for higher-resolution photography, including macro; a 5x Telephoto camera on both Pro models; and 'studio-quality' mics to record more true-to-life audio. In addition, the Pro Max's 5x lens has also come to the regular iPhone 16 Pro, replacing the 3x camera that was on the previous generation.

Video specs max out at 4K120 fps in Slo-mo or Video mode, and it's also possible to adjust the playback speed after capture in the Photos app, including a quarter-speed playback, a new half-speed option for a 'dreamy' effect, and a fifth-speed option that corresponds to 24 fps.

Camera Control

Apple says its entirely new Camera Control mode makes the pro camera system more versatile, with a new way to quickly launch the camera, take a photo, and start video recording. 

The company says the Camera Control has a tactile switch with a 'high-precision' force sensor that enables the light press gesture, and a capacitive sensor that allows for touch interactions.

Additionally, a new camera preview helps users frame the shot and adjust other control options — such as zoom, exposure, or depth of field — to compose a photo or video by sliding a finger on the Camera Control.

Apple also says that soon Camera Control will be updated with a two-stage shutter to automatically lock focus and exposure on a subject with a light press, letting users reframe the shot without losing focus.

Additionally, developers will be able to bring Camera Control to third-party apps such as Kino, which will offer users the ability to adjust white balance and set focus points, including at various levels of depth in their scene.

And of course it wouldn't be a tech announcement without a mention of AI. Later this year, Camera Control will unlock visual intelligence to help users learn about objects and places 'faster than ever before.'

"Users can click and hold Camera Control to pull up the hours or ratings for a restaurant they pass, add an event from a flyer to their calendar, quickly identify a dog by breed, and more," Apple says.

It's likely AI is also behind the iPhone's new 'Photographic Styles', which help users customise their photos by locally adjusting color, highlights, and shadows in real time. 

In the future, Apple also says its assistant Siri will be able to complete in-app requests and take action across apps, like pulling up a specific shot from a user’s Photos library and then applying an edit to the image in Apple's Darkroom software.

Siri can also help users fully utilise the wide range of photo and editing capabilities, such as asking how to adjust the blur in the background of a photo.

The devices are, as you'd imagine, eye-wateringly expensive. The iPhone 16 Pro is $1,799, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max $2,149 in their base form - going up to a whopping $2,699 and $2,849 for 1TB models. Although you could always get one with a smaller capacity - they both come in 128gb, 256gb and 512gb capacities.

They also come in a variety of colours - black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium.

The pre-order starts on the 13th of September for both at apple.com.