Much of the focus of the new iPhones seems centered around the lackluster rollout of Apple Intelligence.
Thats neglecting the best part of Apples iPhone 16.
The phone doesnt feel like a significant compromise over not going Pro.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
With its colors and improved camera system, last years iPhone 15 was impressive.
Thats not to say you should toss out your old iPhone and immediately update to this one.
(You shouldnt do that anyway, thats wasteful.)
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Pros
Cons
Apple iPhone 16 Review: Now, with more buttons!
Shout out for this years iPhone 16/16 Plus colorways.
Apple sent us the iPhone 16 in Ultramarine and the iPhone 16 Plus in Pink.
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Theres also White and Black for traditionalists.
Whats interesting is how similar Apples color offers are to theGoogle Pixel 9 lineup.
Its almost like the backside colors are all on trend or something.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The Action Button is handy and has gainedmany fans in the past year.
Its small enough that its not an accidental hit when youre thumbing for the volume buttons.
The Camera Control button isfinebut finicky.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Im stillgettingused to interacting with it and sliding between controls to find the setting I want.
It may have a renaissance after more third-party apps make use of it.
And yeah, its becausesome of it isnt ready.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
But it seems like Apple caught on, and weve been grimacing at how AI currently exists on phones.
Apple is wiser to wait to release features that feel fully baked, especially controversial ones.
The Geekbench 6 numbers for Apples new SoC are surprisingly on par with the iPhone 16 Pros score.
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It didnt do that this time, and thats likely to prioritize rolling out Apple Intellifence.
Battery life should be better on the iPhone 16/16 Plus than this years iPhone 16 Pro models.
Apple kept the displays on the base model iPhone 16s at a 60Hz refresh rate.
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Some users might find it absurd to pair such power with a refresh rate that doesnt necessarily correspond.
(I have a Meta Quest 2 collecting dust under the TV cabinet.
What can I say?
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
It makes me dizzy.)
The iPhone 16/16 Plus is limited to 2x optical zoom, though it offers up to 10x digital zoom.
It impressed me in other scenarios.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The iPhone 16 also doesnt have some of the Hollywood-production-quality capabilities lauded by the iPhone 16 Pro.
But at least your pictures look like they were taken with the pricier iPhone.
I want to caution you about snapping photos with the iPhone 16s depth mode flipped on.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Should you buy the iPhone 16?
The good news is that the iPhone 16 sets a positive precedent for base model iPhone users going forward.
Youre no longer getting the scrappings of last years Pro model in a refreshed, friendly-colored smartphone body.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
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