If you're a fan of big phones, Apple probably just made your day.
In its annual keynote, Apple announced the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The new phones have a lot going on, but probably the biggest change (pun intended) you need to know is the size.
According to Apple, the new Pro smartphones are the largest Pro-model iPhones ever, with the iPhone 16 Pro measuring 6.3 inches and the iPhone 16 Pro Max measuring 6.9 inches. SVP of Worldwide Marketing Greg "Joz" Josiwak claimed the Pro Max features the "largest iPhone display ever, helping you see more and do more."
Build-wise, the Grade 5 Titanium frame on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max comes in four finishes: black titanium, white titanium, natural titanium, and a warmer hue desert titanium.
The new machined chassis on the iPhone 16 Pro is made with 100% recycled aluminum "bonded to the titanium frame using solid-state diffusion" for maximized thermal capacity. Combined with a "graphite-clad aluminum sub-structure, creating an innovative architecture that enables up to 20% improvement in sustained performance," Joswiak stated. "This is crucial for efficiently running advanced on-device features like Apple Intelligence and high-performance gaming."
The new Pro models also offer larger, more optimized batteries, better power management, and more efficient Apple Silicon processors to offer improved battery life.
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 while the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199. Apple is offering trade-in value for folks upgrading from older iPhones, and both Pro models will be available for pre-order this Friday, September 13.
Apple Intelligence on the Pro models
Apple Intelligence is also coming to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, with a few additional features on top of what Apple already confirmed for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will offer increased insights from Siri using your personal semantic index to find the information you need across all of your installed apps. If you record a meeting with your iPhone 16 Pro, "Apple intelligence will generate a summary from the transcript, and when it's time to update everyone on the latest status, you'll be able to use it to help rewrite your note in a more professional tone."
Siri will also have enhanced action features to find specific photos or videos and apply edits. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max camera control will also offer "suggestions on how to enhance the space and achieve their vision."
iPhone 16 Pro is powered by the Apple A18 Pro chipset
Sribalan Santhanam, Vice President Silicon Engineering Group at Apple introduced the latest update in Apple Silicon because the "iPhone 16 Pro's unique performance and feature requirements demanded a new Pro chip." The A18 Pro will only be available on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max and Santhanam referred to the new chipset as "the fastest CPU in any smartphone."
The A18 Pro 6-core CPU was built with second-generation 3nm transistors, while the A18 Pro features 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The A18 Pro also features a new 16-core neural engine.
iPhone 16 Pro camera upgrades
The Pro models feature a new 48 MP fusion camera with a quad-pixel sensor for zero shutter lag, a 48 MP ultrawide camera with a quad-pixel sensor for autofocus on wide shots and macro, and a 5x telephoto lens on the triple-camera array. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max get the same new Camera Control button as the iPhone 16, with the same precision gesture controls and new UI for better control over your camera settings on the fly.
Later this year, Camera Control on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will get an update for a two-stage shutter to automatically lock focus and exposure the way you do on professional-grade cameras like DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Apple's Photographic Styles is also getting updates for a better understanding of skin tones and color.
In terms of filming, the new Pro models can capture in 4K resolution at 120 Frames per second in HDR for vivid, high-resolution videos.
Apple has also upgraded the microphone on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max for studio-quality audio. New software in the Voice Memos app even allows for audio track layering so you can use the app for music recording in addition to voice memos.
