4 iPhone 16 Features I Can't Wait to Try

After months of leaks and rumors, the iPhone 16 series is finally official.

The launch has generated a lot of excitement among Apple fans, despite the hit it will take to their bank accounts. However, it’s easy for more casual phone users to dismiss the new devices as “exactly the same as last year.”

But while they share a lot in common with the iPhone 15 lineup, the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max offer some really compelling improvements that I can’t wait to try.

The first thing that comes to mind is Apple Intelligence, the collective name for Apple’s suite of AI features that will begin rolling out later this year. As exciting as they are, AI is also coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, so I won’t include it here.

Instead, here are four hardware upgrades that caught my eye.

Camera control button

When Apple adds a new physical button to its iPhone, everyone sits up and takes notice. And the new camera control button may be the most interesting yet.

As the name suggests, it’s designed to be used to control cameras while taking photos and videos. It can be used as a shutter button or to quickly launch the camera, but the built-in touch and force sensors make it much more versatile.

By sliding the button, you can adjust zoom, depth of field, and picture styles without having to go into settings. Apple is also opening this feature up to developers, with Snapchat already live and other third-party developers likely to update their apps soon. It also seems possible to use it for more than just capturing images and videos.

Even as a casual amateur photographer, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. And, assuming it’s as good as it seems, expect something very similar on Android phones before long.

New ultra-wide camera

Apple has made a lot of small camera improvements in the iPhone 16 lineup, but it’s the ultra-wide improvements that I’m most excited to try.

As someone who takes a lot of landscape photos, I really enjoy using the ultra-wide lens on a phone. However, it’s too often a big drop in quality compared to the main sensor.

The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max’s 12MP ultra-wide lens was one of the best, though it still wasn’t as good as the 48MP main camera. Apple seems to have fixed that problem by equipping the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max with 48MP ultra-wide lenses.

Apple

It will use pixel binning (where four pixels are combined into one) for a 12MP image, but the quality should be much better. Unfortunately, the upgrade hasn’t extended to the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, which still feature 12MP ultra-wide lenses.

A18 Pro chip

With last year’s A17 Pro, Apple already offered arguably the best performance of any smartphone. But incredibly, Apple claims the new A18 Pro is 15% faster, which would be an incredible feat if true.

Apple

However, this is unlikely to make a difference for most people. What I’m most excited about are the supposed improvements in power efficiency, which would further improve battery life.

It’s also designed for Apple Intelligence, with some features expected to be exclusive to the A18 Pro phones – the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max.

The big screen phone just got bigger

With a 6.7-inch display, the iPhone 15 Pro Max wasn’t exactly a small phone. But Apple has taken things to the next level with its successor. The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a massive 6.9-inch panel, making it one of the largest phones we’ve ever seen.

In fact, the last phone I remember with a screen this big was the 7-inch Honor Note 10 from 2018. I tried that phone, but found it too big and bulky to be a realistic everyday option.

Macworld

Six years later, do the thinner bezels and lighter design make the iPhone 16 Pro Max a realistic option? I’m not entirely sure, but I’d like to give it a try.

As you can see, the iPhone 16 series offers more exciting improvements than you might think. But Apple will really have to impress for one of its devices to top our roundup of the best phones you can buy.