Apple finally took the wraps off what could be called the AI iPhone series. The new iPhone 16 lineup is the first designed with AI-powered features front and center. But that’s not all. While much of the 100-minute keynote focused on the company’s Apple Intelligence tools, the new iPhones feature a handful of fresh, eye-catching hardware as well, like the Camera Control button. Still, the most important announcement was the one Apple didn’t outrightly announce: The new iPhone 16 restores the non-pro iPhone’s flagship status.
I’ve been a non-pro iPhone user for as long as I can remember. It was ideal for my use. The pro iPhones often offered “professional hardware” that most consumers wouldn’t care about, such as a LiDAR sensor, at a premium. But over the last couple of years, Apple began to reserve even the most mainstream features, like an updated chipset, behind the pro paywall and recycled them onto the next generation of “new” non-pro iPhones.
