Apple has changed the page on Apple’s calendar for the unveiling of the next iPhone. It’s no surprise that the iPhone 16 is the next model to come after the iPhone 15. The lineup includes the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The handsets made their debut at the company’s annual hardware event in September in Cupertino, California. (New Apple Watches were also announced.)
The latest iPhones have a few new tricks to distinguish them from their predecessors – the Action button is now available on all iPhones in this range, and there’s a new camera control button that’s used to take photos. Overall, many of the improvements are in the software – iOS 18 – which will also be available to download next week if you have a compatible device. The iPhone 16 models are designed to take advantage of the all Apple Intelligence features were announced earlier this year, but you won’t see many of them until the iOS 18.1 update is released in October.
Below, I’ve compiled everything you need to know about the iPhone 16 lineup. Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 start on September 13, and here are the prices: The iPhone 16 costs $799, the iPhone 16 Plus costs $899, the iPhone 16 Pro costs $999, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $1,199. They’ll be available in stores starting September 20.
The iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 looks different from previous iPhones—the camera arrangement is vertical rather than diagonal—but otherwise they’re identical. The iPhone 16 Pro line is more similar to its predecessors, but slightly larger: the iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch screen (up from 6.1 inches) and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 6.9 inches (up from 6.7 inches). The phones aren’t dramatically larger, but Apple has reduced the bezels around the screen to maximize screen real estate.
Every iPhone in this lineup features the Action Button, which Apple introduced last year to replace the mute button. You can customize the Action Button to turn on a flashlight, shortcut, or other setting. You can even set it to work just like the mute button if you miss the mute button (though that’s far less satisfying).
Apple says the ceramic glass in these models is 50 percent harder than the first generation Ceramic Shield, and a new manufacturing process makes the case colors richer. The iPhone 16 comes in pink, teal, ultramarine, white, and black.
But there is a new button on the iPhone’s hardware: camera controls. This is like a physical shutter button on cameras—a firm press takes a photo, a long press takes a video, and now a light press lets you activate a cleaner viewfinder without all the UI elements. During that light press, you can slide your finger across the camera controls button to swipe through zoom levels; a double light press lets you cycle through other modes. On the Pro models, you can use that light press to hold focus on a specific subject.
