Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Still the King?

Remember when rumors were flying about an iPhone with no ports or buttons? Well, it’s 2024, and Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro isn’t just keeping the ports—they’ve added extra buttons! While the sleek exterior may feel familiar, the iPhone 16 Pro brings significant upgrades under the hood. We’re talking larger screens, longer battery life, Apple’s most powerful processors to date, and a revamped camera system that elevates mobile photography to new heights.

And there’s more—when iOS 18.1 drops this October, the iPhone 16 Pro will be one of the first to unlock Apple Intelligence AI features, setting it apart in the AI-driven future. So, should you go for the iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max? We have been testing the iPhone 16 Pro for some time, and while it shares much with its bigger sibling, the real differences lie in the screen size and battery life. Here’s our in-depth take on the iPhone 16 Pro:

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Design and Build

Since Apple switched to titanium for the Pro series, there have been fewer colour options, and the dyeing process has become trickier. That remains the same with the iPhone 16 Pro and i6 Pro Max. This year’s desert color wasn’t my top choice; I chose Natural Titanium. It looks more premium to me, but that’s just my personal taste, so it depends on what you like.

The 16 Pro and Pro Max are the biggest ever, a bit taller and wider than the 15 Pro and Max. With slimmer bezels, the screen grew by 0.2 inches to 6.3 and 6.9 inches. When you compare them side by side, you can see Apple’s been refining this. But in everyday use, the difference won’t be that noticeable.

Apple also improved the screen glass, claiming it’s 50% harder. I need to highlight the weight. If you put it on a scale, you’ll see the 16 Pro is about 10 grams heavier than the 15 Pro. It’s a bit heavier, but Apple still keeps it easy to use with one hand, improving the 16 Pro’s battery life.

A standout feature is the Action Button, available across all iPhone 16 models, which allows users to assign various functions like camera shortcuts, Shazam, and custom Shortcuts, unlocking endless possibilities for tailored usage.

The iPhone 16 Pro’s Camera Control button is Apple’s new way to interact with their cameras. It’s the first time since the Action Button that Apple has added a new, handy physical control to the outside of the iPhone. It fits right into the phone’s design, so you can quickly launch the camera—even when it’s locked—and mess with settings using half-presses and swipes.

At first, it reminded me of older phones like the Nokia N95 and the Sony Xperia Z5 Dual, which used camera buttons. But when I started using it, I realized it’s more refined. It feels natural to switch between lenses without even looking at the screen. However, the button does make things a bit more complicated by cramming lots of settings into a single dial, which can feel a bit awkward and takes some getting used to. The placement of the button isn’t great for taking vertical photos or videos. Still, if you shoot in a horizontal orientation, your right hand’s index finger will land on it perfectly.

The iPhone 16 Pro now gives you nearly seven ways to open the camera app, so you have lots of options. You can use the new Camera Control button, the lock screen shortcut, the Control Center, swipe to the left from the lock screen, Siri, the Home Screen icon, or the Action Button. Apple really makes it easy to capture moments instantly.

Looking at Apple’s recent changes, it’s obvious that they’ve focused more on making meaningful changes to their design rather than just overhalling the looks. This means they’ve addressed long-standing issues while also making the device more durable and better-feeling in the hand.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Display and Audio

The iPhone 16 Pro features a 6.3-inch OLED LTPO display with a resolution of 2,622 by 1,206 pixels and a pixel density of 460ppi. It’s an M14 OLED panel by Samsung Display rated to offer better brightness and a longer lifespan than any other existing OLED display. It’s a ProMotion panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering arguably the smoothest animations and fluidity among this year’s flagships.

The display is rated to offer a peak brightness of 2,000 nits outdoors and 1,600 nits for HDR content. Additionally, it includes an always-on display feature. It can reach a minimum brightness of 1 nit, an improvement from its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Pro. This allows for comfortable use in dark environments without causing battery drain.

In the iPhone 16 Pro, Apple has used PWM 480Hz, dropping to an effective 240Hz at lower brightness levels. During my time with the phone, I never felt any eye strain while using the iPhone 16 Pro for long hours. Apple has done some impressive work with display management – while system apps scrolling, the iPhone 16 Pro’s refresh rate is capped at 80Hz. This helps save battery without sacrificing that signature smoothness. Even though some Android rivals boast higher touch sampling rates, the iPhone 16 Pro delivers an incredibly responsive experience. Thanks to its ProMotion display, pinpoint touch accuracy, and satisfying haptic feedback, the iPhone 16 Pro still feels like one of the most fluid and enjoyable touch experiences on the market.

Apple always nails it with colours. Their display on the iPhone 16 Pro covers over 80% of the DCI-P3 colour palette with a Delta-E of less than 1, so you know it’s super accurate.

The iPhone 16 Pro has this cool True Tone display feature that adjusts the color based on the lighting around you. Streaming stuff on Netflix and YouTube is awesome on the iPhone 16 Pro. We watched Slow Horses in Dolby Vision on the Apple TV+ app, and it was such a great experience. Too bad other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 don’t have Dolby Vision. Whether you’re surfing the web, reading emails, editing videos, or playing games, the screen and the loudspeakers on the iPhone 16 Pro make everything more fun.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Software

The iPhone 16 Pro comes with iOS 18, Apple’s latest mobile operating system. While iOS 18 is advertised as a major redesign, its improvements are more about subtle yet impactful enhancements. Customization is a key focus, with the ability to personalize home screens, adjust icon sizes, and switch between light and dark themes, offering users more flexibility.

Dynamic Island has gotten even better, giving you a smoother multitasking experience with cool animations and real-time info for things like Face ID and music controls. Now, system notifications like AirDrop or calls interact in a more fun way with the island, making the whole experience more immersive.

Apple’s own apps—Photos, Music, and TV—have also been upgraded. The new Photos app organizes your pics more intuitively, with better filtering and customization options.

For gaming, Game Mode reduces background activity and makes everything more responsive. Plus, there are new features in Maps, Wallet, and the Journal app that take the user experience up a notch.

So, we decided to test out Apple’s Intelligence by changing our region and Siri language to U.S. English. We liked how Siri has evolved and features like notification summaries and article digests are pretty cool. However, the long-awaited Visual Intelligence feature is still not available to try in beta.

Overall, iOS 18 delivers the same smooth, responsive experience we expect from Apple. The animations are slick, and the interface remains easy to use, but now with some much-needed customization. Finally, Apple has given iPhone users the freedom to move app icons wherever they want—a feature Android users have had for years. It’s a polished update, but iOS 18 feels more like Apple refining the formula than reinventing it.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Performance

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has 8GB of RAM and Apple’s new A18 Pro chip, built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology. This advanced node process isn’t available on any Android devices yet. Having said that, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to bridge this gap.

The A18 Pro processor in the iPhone 16 Pro has more advanced components than the A18 in the base iPhone 16, including an extra graphics processor core. Compared to last year’s pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro’s offer a 10-15% improvement over the A17 Pro, in terms of CPU and GPU which doesn’t seem like much. But you’ll notice it’s focused on the NPU and video encoding engine, paving the way for AI. With A18 Pro, Apple can do on-device AI computing that other phones can’t, keeping user data off the cloud with more privacy.

Our benchmark results show that the A18 Pro processor is more powerful than the A18 processor found in the base iPhone 16 models in almost every way.

On the surface, the A18 Pro’s CPU and GPU only offer a 10-15% improvement over the A17 Pro, which doesn’t seem like much. But you’ll notice it’s focused on the NPU and video encoding engine, paving the way for AI.

This means faster overall performance for the iPhone 16 Pro models, especially for demanding tasks like video editing. Apple also claims that the iPhone 16 Pro offers twice the ray tracing performance in games compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. The AI performance is expected to be faster, too. Still, we’ll have to test that when Apple Intelligence is rolled out in October.

Yeah, in real life, you probably won’t notice much of a difference in performance between the A18 Pro and the A18. The regular iPhone 16 opens and runs most apps just as fast as the iPhone 16 Pro. Games also look just as awesome on the iPhone 16 as on the iPhone 16 Pro. I can’t tell the difference in lighting quality when I turn on ray tracing while playing games. But hey, the iPhone 16 Pro might keep performing super well for an extra year compared to the base iPhone 16, all thanks to the A18 Pro’s extra oomph.

The iPhone 16 Pro’s heat management is its most outstanding improvement this year. Although it’s not just the structure that plays a big role, the chip inside—the A18 Pro—also plays a big role. Now, you can play graphics-intensive games like Honor of Kings at 120fps without an external cooling system.

When it comes to performance tests, the iPhone 16 Pro once again beats the competition. On Geekbench, which measures single-core and multi-core performance, the new iPhone 16 Pro scored 3182 in single-core tests, which is almost 50% faster than the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in single-core performance. Similarly, in multi-core performance, the iPhone 16 Pro clocked a score of 7872 as compared to 6070 for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, (tests taken in the same ambient temperature). The latest Tensor G4 Pixel phones can’t keep up.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Cameras

Now that we’ve covered design and performance, let’s dive into what many are most excited about – the iPhone 16 Pro’s cameras. Apple has made four significant hardware upgrades: a switch to a 5x telephoto lens (up from 3x), a 48MP ultra-wide lens, a faster sensor on the main camera, and the addition of anti-reflective coating across all lenses. Here are the camera specifications:

• Main: 48 MP Fusion Camera, f/1.8, 24 mm, 1/1.28”, dual-pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS
• Ultra-Wide: 48 MP, f/2.2, 13 mm, 1/2.6”, PDAF
• Telephoto: 12 MP 5x Tetra Prism, f/2.8, 120 mm, 1/3.06”, dual-pixel PDAF, 3D sensor-shift OIS
• TOF 3D LiDAR scanner 

While the main camera’s faster sensor doesn’t produce dramatic differences in everyday photography, the results are still top-notch. The sharpness, HDR performance, and night mode are as refined as ever, avoiding the overly processed look that was common in earlier models. The most tangible improvement is for RAW photography, where faster processing drastically reduces wait times between shots. This upgrade, coupled with reduced shutter lag, makes the 16 Pro a responsive powerhouse, especially when capturing fast-moving subjects.

The shift from a 3x to a 5x telephoto lens is both a blessing and a drawback. While the 5x telephoto captures stunning detail, especially at events like concerts, it comes at the expense of the beloved 3x zoom. The 3x was a favorite for close-up shots, like portraits and food photography, thanks to its superior focusing distance and image quality. Now, the 3x to 4.9x range relies on a cropped main sensor, losing some of that sharpness and clarity found in the iPhone 15 Pro. While the 5x lens shines in long-range shots, it leaves the mid-range somewhat compromised.

Apple’s new 48MP ultra-wide lens is one of the most exciting upgrades. With support for macro photography, this lens is noticeably sharper than its predecessor, allowing for greater zoom capability without sacrificing clarity. The higher resolution means macro shots are more detailed, making it a versatile tool for close-up photography.

Apple’s addition of anti-reflective coatings is a step in the right direction. Lens flares, which once washed out entire images, are now significantly reduced. However, ghosting remains an issue, especially in high-contrast scenes. While the coating improves overall clarity, a complete fix might require a redesign of the lens system.

This year’s update to Photographic Styles is more than a refresh. Apple has integrated this mode deeply with its AI-driven LIDAR system, which dynamically separates subjects from backgrounds. This allows for precise, film-like color grading, almost as if you’re fine-tuning secondary colors in post-production. The best part? It’s non-destructive. You can revert to the original look of your photos anytime. While not as customizable as pro-grade apps, it’s a powerful feature for everyday users who want more control over their images.

When it comes to video, Apple continues to lead the pack. The iPhone 16 Pro’s ability to shoot in 4K at 120fps is a game-changer, especially for smooth slow-motion shots and fluid camera movements. The only limitation is that this high frame rate is restricted to the main camera, leaving the ultra-wide and telephoto capped at 60fps. However, even with this restriction, the quality is outstanding, surpassing what’s possible with many action cameras, particularly in low-light settings.

Two standout features in the video department are spatial audio and heat management. The iPhone 16 Pro uses four studio-quality microphones to deliver immersive audio, especially when paired with AirPods. This feature shines in noisy environments, automatically adjusting levels for crisp, clear sound. Additionally, heat management has seen a significant boost. Even under intense conditions, like prolonged 4K recording in direct sunlight, the 16 Pro holds up twice as long as its predecessor, making it ideal for long shoots without fear of overheating.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Connectivity, Battery and Charging

The iPhone 16 Pro does come with some important upgrades for connecting and charging. It gets Wi-Fi 7, which means faster speeds if you have the right setup. It also has Thread and a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which makes it work even better with other Apple stuff and improves features like precise AirTag tracking. For physical connections, it still uses USB-C, giving you up to 10Gbps transfer speeds. This is great for videographers who need to move big files quickly or record directly to an external drive. Overall, these features make the iPhone 16 Pro a great choice for creative pros who need fast, reliable data transfer for high-res content.

The battery life of the iPhone 16 Pro has gotten a lot better. The iPhone 16 Pro has a slightly bigger battery with a capacity of 3,582mAh, which is 359mAh more than the previous model. This might not sound like a big deal, but in real-life use, it makes a noticeable difference. For me, the iPhone 16 Pro can easily last a full day with regular use, giving you 5-6 hours of screen-on time. It performs similarly to the iPhone 15 Pro in activities like streaming video and gaming, but it really shines in everyday tasks like web browsing and calls, providing extended battery life for these activities.

When it comes to charging speed, Apple has made some progress here. Using Apple’s 30W charging adapter with bundled cable, you can get a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. Some reports even suggest it can reach 34W or 39W with the right gear. With MagSafe, wireless charging now supports up to 25W, which is faster than before. With wired charing, going from 0 to 100% takes a total of 1 hour and 36 minutes, and the last 20% charges extremely slowly.