Apple iPhone 16 Pro reviewed: handheld powerhouse

Big phones are where all the big developments are, but in this year’s normal-sized iPhone 16 Pro, the biggest and best tech is in a smaller space, too.

You don’t need to look far beyond the outlines of your pockets to find that phone sizes have changed over the years. Once small and now getting much, much larger, handsets are big these days. Not just big business, but big in general.

There’s a general expectation that the bigger the phone, the more it can do. It’s one companies tend to lean into, often because there’s more room for the hardware requirements linked to really cool things.

Take the S-Pen with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: it’s a feature that is only found on the large model Galaxy, while every other S model seemingly misses out. The same was true with the 5X camera on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, a feature the standard 15 Pro missed out on.

But things are changing.

In this year’s iPhone Pro range, Apple made it so that buyers of the 16 Pro would get most of the same hardware as anyone buying the 16 Pro Max. The exceptions here are clearly a difference in screen size and battery size, but everything else is the same.

That means if you want a big phone in the shape of something smaller, you don’t have to compromise. Does it deliver?

Design

A new iPhone the 16 Pro may be, but a new design there isn’t. This is more or less last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and its titanium frame and glass covers with one or two changes.

For one, the 16 Pro is slightly taller at 149.6mm compared to the 146.6mm of the 15 Pro, and it’s 0.9mm wider, too, likely to accommodate the change in screen size, which jumps from 6.1 to 6.3 inches, which appears to be the new norm for “regular” sized phones in the Apple world

The thickness is identical — 8.25mm — but there’s a touch more heft, jumping up 12 grams to 199g in the iPhone 16 Pro.

But from a look point of view, everything looks kind of the same, just a little bigger. There’s a new layer of glass resistance in this phone thanks to the last generation of the Ceramic Shield, and there’s an IP68 water resistance rating, too.

If anything, the one major change beyond a slight change in dimensions is the extra button on the right edge, which works as a button and a haptic slide controller to give you a little more control on the camera side of things.

Features

Inside, though, the hardware is living its best life in much the same was as the iPhone 16 Pro Max we’ve previously reviewed, just smaller.

That includes the Apple A18 Pro chip with its 6-core CPU, 6-core graphics processor, and 16-core Neural Engine, ready to handle Apple Intelligence when it eventually arrives in Australia (likely in December).

It also includes the assortment of WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, second-gen ultra-wideband for AirTags, Near-Field Communication (NFC) for Apple Pay, GPS, and 5G with support for 4G, as well. That takes care of wireless connections, while wired is just the one port at the bottom: a lone USB-C port covering charging, audio, and USB 3 data transfers.

You’ll find three cameras on the back, exactly as they are in the bigger variation, including the 48 megapixel F1.78 wide camera, a 48 megapixel F2.2 ultra-wide, and a 12 megapixel F2.8 5X telephoto, with support for 4K video supporting Dolby Vision at a variety of frame rates, as well as ProRes recording, too. The front-facing camera is a 12 megapixel F1.9 autofocus camera, which is largely the same from the iPhone 15 Pro before it.

Apple has changed the screen, with the new 6.3 inch display running at 2622×1206, supporting the “Always-On” screen technology where the refresh rate can stop down to 1Hz, but runs between 1 and 120 throughout its use.

All of this sits in a body that can be charged either using wired or wireless charging, the latter of which supports both MagSafe and Qi2, with facial recognition locking the phone inside the Face ID sensor at the front.

In-use

Switch the iPhone with the power button on the side, and you should find iOS 18 ready for you, complete with the slightly bigger screen. A jump from 6.1 to 6.3 inches might not seem like much, but it’s an improvement in screen real estate, giving you a little bit more of everything on the Always-On display.

You’ll also find the Dynamic Island, the little hole cut out of the top that not only houses the Face ID sensors for logging in, but also allows the software to turn that section into a small button of sorts for getting around the operating system.

When playing music, it turns into a jumping off point for the music player, while Uber might count down to when your vehicle arrives. Developers can make use of the Dynamic Island, and it can change how you use the iPhone.

Performance

You’re not only getting an extra button, but some extra impressive hardware. Armed with the same A18 Pro chip as its Pro Max big brother, the iPhone 16 Pro is a beast in the performance department, with plenty to work with.

The benchmarks scream capability, achieving leaps over previous iPhone Pro models, and pretty much declaring that this phone will be great for a while to come.

There’s a clear speed bump over the standard iPhone 16, which is already a favourite and the other iPhone model this year we expect people will be trying to device between — do you consider the standard model or the better standard model?

Alternatively, if you’re trying to compare the iPhone 16 Pro against some of the hardware in Android devices, know that while the case of Apples against oranges (Android is oranges in this example) is never exactly perfect, but the iPhone holds its own quite well, if not better than some of its competition.

The hardware offered this year has been exceptional across all flagship devices, but the iPhone seems to be second to none, really just nailing the benchmarks, and delivering on real-world performance, as well.

Testing the iPhone 16 in real-world uses, there’s little to no lag ever — ever — and the system just flies. At the time we reviewed the iPhone 16, Apple Intelligence was not available in Australia, so we’ve missed that in our review, but practically everything else was solid.

The inclusion of iOS 18 out of the box means the iPhone 16 is ready for AI in its 2024-obsessed form, and just about anything else you might want it for. And now that you can make your home screen in whatever style you want, complete with icon changes and tints, and without the specific every-item-in-a-row grid functionality Apple has required for years, well let’s just say even Android folks may be tempted to make the switch.

Mobile performance is equally strong, too, not surprising given the 5G hardware under the hood in the 16 Pro, though Australians will miss out on mmWave.

That should probably come as no surprise; even Google has tapered back its millimetre wave 5G ambitions in Australia, removing it from the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but leaving it in the more expensive Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

While mmWave hasn’t quite had a lot of attention locally, the release of another Sub-6 5G phone in Australia means the speed benchmarks seem to be pretty solid locally, while going overseas where networks lean on one technology over the other may see slight reductions in speed. Really, you’ll only know when you get there.

In Australia, however, we found speeds as high as 460Mbps in our testing on the Telstra 5G network used by Mate mobile.

Your speeds may vary, of course, thanks in part to a variety of network factors, including time of the day, where you are, proximity to towers, and how many other people are using the network at the time. For instance, if you’re using it while reviewers like this one are testing mobile speeds, we might just get a little faster speeds for the few seconds we’re testing.

Camera

Everyone will get a better camera, though, that much is definitely true. Apple was already leading in this department, and in the 16 Pro, it has maintained that lead.

Easily one of the standout features, Apple is using the same camera system for the iPhone 16 Pro as it did on the 16 Pro Max, meaning owners of the smaller Pro model get the same hardware as the bigger variation.

It’s a change that makes this year’s Pro specifically different from last year’s options, and leaves owners with such a compelling package, you’ll wonder how any other camera can compete.

The hardware includes Apple’s newly updated Fusion camera system, made of a 48 megapixel main wide F1.78 camera, a newly updated 48 megapixel ultra-wide F2.2 camera, and a 12 megapixel 5X telephoto F2.8, giving you a focal range covering 0.5X to 5X, though the jump at the end runs from 2X to 5X in one hit.

That combination means plenty of reach for a smartphone, and Apple has upgraded some of the technology considerably.

Take the macro support, which is even better in this generation and allows you to get really, really close imagery. See the hairs on a bee level of close, or even the joins of an ant’s antenna. Zoom into a Twistie and it’ll look like the cheesy equivalent of an asteroid. It’s an impressive level of close up macro, and it could just make you think differently.

Outside of macro shots, images are excellent through and through. The detail is there, colours are crisp and sharp, and Apple’s tweaks to its photographic styles settings mean you can take change the look of your images all too easily.

Monochromes look like they’ve come from a more expensive camera, and if you want to keep things in colour, you can opt for filters that change the look or just the skin tone. You may never go back to a real camera again.

Of course, if you come from a proper camera, you’ll find the controls of the iPhone 16 Pro are possibly a little more accommodating overall.

While the on-screen camera shutter is still the same big circle it ever was, and you can trigger a shot using the volume key, you now have the option of using the Camera Control button on the edge, which allows you to cycle through camera options, hold focus, and squeeze to fire the shot.

It’s not a total shutter replacement, and truth be told, we haven’t been leaning on it as much as you may expect, but it’s one extra that helps make the iPhone more like a conventional camera.

Battery

Over on the battery side of things, there’s a slight improvement in life, thanks in part to the chip improvements, achieving al title over 24 hours of real-world use, but not much more.

Perhaps the most intriguing battery life improvement comes from media viewing. Specifically, if you’re just using your iPhone 16 Pro as a video screen (like if you’re travelling), the battery life gets a bump in the best possible way here.

When used just for video playback, the iPhone 16 Pro can get up to 27 hours of playback, though if you’re using wireless earphones like the AirPods or AirPods Pro, you may see this tapered back by a few hours thanks to the wireless audio eating into the battery life, as well.

Providing over 23 hours for video means in-flight viewing can technically happen for the entirety of most long-haul flights, though the moment you start using your phone for other purposes — like as a phone — expect the life to fall back to the maximum of a day.

In real-world usage and testing, we found the 16 Pro managed a 28 hours of screen time through a regular day and a bit, which isn’t bad, but could easily be better.

Value

With all of these great features, you can expect the price of the iPhone 16 Pro to be relatively high… and it is.

Last year’s iPhone 15 Pro started from $1849 for a 128GB phone, with 256GB costing $2049, 512GB for $2399, and a 1TB model for $2749. That was high, but Apple has interestingly made a change for the positive to improve these offerings.

In fact, Apple has technically lowered the price of the Pro this year, with the iPhone 16 Pro starting at $1799 in Australia, cutting the cost of every iPhone variation by about $50 in this generation.

The 128GB model starts fifty bucks less than the 15 Pro equivalent at $1799, while the 256GB model is $1999, the 512GB for $2349, and the 1TB model for $2699.

Where things get a little confusing about the value is Apple keeping the 128GB model around. It’s been removed from the Pro Max, and doesn’t even exist as an entry in the 16 Pro Max. You have to start with 256GB on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, while the 16 Pro starts at 128GB.

That could well be in upsell territory, but we’re delighted to see a price change all the same. In fact, the 256GB iPhone 16 Pro being sold for $1999 versus the the 16 Pro Max at $2149 means there’s only a good $150 difference between the two, and a heap of size. Plus if you don’t really need the 256GB minimum (which we think you probably do, at least long term), you can save even more.

The real question of value is whether the standard iPhone 16’s $1399 128GB price is more appealing than the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB’s $1799 price, a different of $400 and a lot of technology.

Only you will be able to answer that, of course, but from a comparative standpoint, there’s a whole lot more going on for the 16 Pro than its 16 standard sibling, from design, durability, camera, and processing hardware. The iPhone 16 is great, but the iPhone 16 Pro is better in just about every way.

What needs work?

Almost everything about this phone is perfectly tuned to its audience. Even the price has been cut back slightly.

About our only squabble is the battery life, which feels like it could be a little bit better.

A day and a bit seems to be consistent for flagship phones of this size, while the mid-range models manage a little more. You might want to call that a difference in how the performance and efficiency cores of processors work, but it does mean the battery life isn’t leaps ahead of what you might have seen prior.

In short, you’ll still possibly want to bring a charging pack around for your iPhone with this model, while the larger Pro Max can handle itself even better.

It’s not a surprise, sure. It’s more of a wishlist of improves.

What we love

One of the best features about this phone is the camera, which staggers and impresses with ease, allowing you to capture images that easily rival other phones, and even some of the larger cameras, too.

It’s 👏 just 👏 so 👏 good. We needed to clap that in time just to get that message across.

The imagery is sharp. The macros are detailed. The portraits are near perfect, and the amount of extra editing you can apply using the photographic styles and portraiture modes just help push the iPhone 16 Pro to another level.

Final thoughts (TLDR)

This little beauty is a handheld powerhouse. It’s exactly what normal-sized phones have needed: an equal. They almost never are.

The sheer excellence of the iPhone 16 Pro cannot be understated. With the exception of the battery life, this is a brilliant handset and easy to recommend.