David Bridges
Authentic launch date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Display 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 | Cameras: 48MP broad, 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 Professional and iPhone 16 Professional Max assessment
The iPhone 16 Professional is the iPhone we’d suggest to most individuals. Sure, its beginning worth of $999 is perhaps steep, however a smartphone is a long-term funding. If the query is “which iPhone is almost certainly to maintain you cheerful for the following three to 5 years,” we predict 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 broad 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 final yr’s iPhone 15 Professional, however it’s removed from an anchor, and its barely curved edges are pleasing to carry. It runs on the marginally quicker 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 you probably have any curiosity in gaming or content material creation. And whereas each iPhone 16 has a USB-C charging port, the Professional fashions help quicker information switch speeds (supplied you might have the correct cable).
Probably the most outstanding improve is the show. Whereas the OLED panels on the iPhone 16 Professional and customary iPhone 16 are equally sharp and vibrant, the previous’s is extra spacious at 6.3 inches (as an alternative 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 internet 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 might make scrolling internet pages, gaming and streaming video noticeably smoother. Some will inform you that the common particular person 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 quicker refresh price in motion, it’s troublesome to surrender.
It’s a irritating state of affairs: You will get a price range Android telephone with a 120Hz show for round $300, but Apple continues to make use of “ProMotion” as a approach to upsell individuals from units that already value tons of extra. Nonetheless, our job is to inform you what’s finest — and the Professional’s show is solely extra present. 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’ll be able to take sharper macro pictures for close-ups, and there are different fanatic options like the power to shoot ProRAW or document 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 pictures as properly; they’ve the identical upgraded Photographic Kinds characteristic that may assist contact up pictures you might discover overprocessed; and so they share the brand new Digicam Management button for rapidly (if generally awkwardly) accessing the digital camera app, adjusting settings and snapping pics. All that mentioned, the 16 Professional is healthier, particularly for those who take your pictures with slightly extra intent.
The Professional ought to get higher battery life as properly, although it’s actually 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 doubtless want a top-up earlier than you go to mattress. The bottom mannequin’s battery is simpler to interchange, too, which is aggravating for Professional house owners given the upper worth. We’ll additionally must see how these batteries maintain up over time, particularly after prolonged use of Apple’s taxing new “Apple Intelligence” instruments.
On that: Apple could be very bluntly promoting every iPhone 16 on how properly they’ll work with these new AI options, however the suite as a complete isn’t out there to the general public but. The corporate will begin rolling out Apple Intelligence in beta in October. We’ll determine how helpful the brand new stuff really is and make any needed adjustments to this information round then, although we don’t anticipate to see a lot of a efficiency distinction between the usual and Professional fashions.
Whereas we predict the iPhone 16 Professional is a good flagship, our subsequent choose ought to higher swimsuit those that don’t thoughts an even bigger gadget and need a telephone that may really final all day.
Ethan Carter
