iPhone 16: Is it Worth the Upgrade? Standard Model Gets Big Upgrades

iPhone 16: Is it Worth the Upgrade? Standard Model Gets Big UpgradesApple's latest iPhones, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, are now out. Are you waiting for your delivery, or are you still on the fence about upgrading? We give you a rundown of our first impressions of the new phones

iPhone 16: Is it Worth the Upgrade? Standard Model Gets Big Upgrades

Apple's latest iPhones, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, are now out. Are you waiting for your delivery, or are you still on the fence about upgrading? We give you a rundown of our first impressions of the new phones. This year's iPhone 16 is the biggest upgrade for the standard model in years, bringing Pro-level performance, the Action Button no longer being a Pro exclusive, and even a fun new camera control button for all iPhone 16 models.

In iOS 18, the "Action Button" becomes even more useful, allowing you to assign Control Center options and even third-party app functions. You can turn on your flashlight, launch the translator, toggle Dark Mode, open your favorite apps, and more. Apple has also introduced a new "Camera Control" button that is used for taking pictures in both landscape and portrait mode. It can be a bit confusing at first, as it's a button, but also supports pressure-sensitive touch gestures such as a swipe. In portrait mode, the button's location is a bit awkward and can be a bit cumbersome to use, requiring some getting used to. However, the button is powerful, letting you double-press for a quick photo capture, press and hold to record video, or use gestures to switch between various tools to adjust photo parameters. The key placement is more sensible when holding the camera in landscape, but a lot of iPhone photography is done in portrait mode.

Apple has moved the camera lenses off the diagonal and into a vertical position, and the iPhone 16 models now support spatial photos and videos from VisionPro, though it remains to be seen just how many people will actually use this feature. Apple has added new photo Styles and a handy little slider for editing the intensity and look of these Styles, making it a more useful feature overall. You can set a favorite style and then apply that to all your pictures for a custom look.

In terms of video, the Audio Mixing feature allows you to change the audio effect of your video recordings. You can extract the subject's voice while muting the background noise, or bring all the sounds forward like a film. This year introduces new colour options, and the Chai iPhone we tested is a bright, vibrant blue. You can also pick from Aqua, Pink, White, and Black.

As for the A18 chip, you may not see a speed boost depending on which iPhone you're upgrading from, as most iPhone apps don't stress the CPU or GPU of modern processors. But the A18 chip powers AppleIntelligence technology. All iPhone 16 models will receive AppleIntelligence in iOS 18.1 and later.

For a smartphone starting at $799, the iPhone 16 offers surprisingly good value this year. If you're using anything older than an iPhone 14, it's a worthy upgrade. For iPhone 14 and beyond, the jump isn't as noticeable, but there are still some great features to look forward to.