The new iPhone 16 series launch was probably the first for Apple where people were eager to see what they get inside rather than the design and the looks. The iPhone 16 Pro is part of its flagship lineup that continues to widen the gap to the regular iPhone 16 models. But with the Apple Intelligence features still in its infancy, does the iPhone 16 Pro have enough in the tank to become the go-to flagship device for buyers?
The iPhone 16 Pro is the compact flagship that people didn’t expect they would get in 2024 but for Rs 1,19,900 the new model looks to add further mettle to Apple’s laurels and give us a glimpse into the AI future for the company with its premiumness intact.
Yes, yes, Apple hasn’t made a lot of changes to the design on the iPhone 16 Pro, and you keep it next to the 15 Pro, you might find it hard to tell them apart. The back panel is still made of glass, while the frame gets grade 5 titanium finish. However, you do notice some differences thanks to the 6.3-inch frame of the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the 6.1-inch body housing the 15 Pro model.
The definite increase in dimensions invariably gives you a heavier body at 199 grams on the 16 Pro while the 15 Pro came at a marginally lower 187 grams last year. Having said that, you cannot deny the premiumness of the iPhone 16 Pro, both on the front and back. And that’s where you feel Apple is happy to keep the same design, which does shine but hopefully the next iteration will offer more for us to talk about.
Apple still doesn’t offer a high-refresh screen if you buy the regular iPhone 16 models in 2024, something that basic mid-range phones have supported for years. But you cannot deny the ProMotion effect on the iPhone 16 Pro with its 6.3-inch Super Retina OLED display that means you get the adaptive 120Hz refresh rate going all the way down to 1Hz if you have nothing functional running on the screen.
The display itself offers rich colours, crisp text and videos and you can have very little to complain about its quality. The compact 6.3-inch size becomes immediately obvious when you place it next to the bigger 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max model.
Apple launched the entire iPhone 16 and 16 Pro lineup with the new A18 series chipset, but the Pro models do benefit from the use of the A18 Pro version which has more power and GPU cores for faster AI performance. While the company doesn’t share the details, reports say Apple is offering the Pro models with 8GB RAM this year, possibly to keep the AI features ticking.
However, the biggest upgrade for the iPhone 16 series is unlikely to come to fruition till late 2024 and early 2025. The hardware on its own takes the flagship levels to another stratosphere, unless Qualcomm changes the story with its upcoming Snapdragon chipset for mobile devices.
And yes, the A18 Pro makes a positive impact on the battery life of the iPhone 16 Pro which is still a powerful workhorse with the right kind of endurance to keep you away from the charger for long hours. The charging speeds have gone up a bit but still notching comparable with most Android phones selling for around Rs 40,000 in the market these days.
Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event was called, It’s Glowtime, which directly refers to the new screen glow when Siri lights up. But the main highlight was absent at launch and only after you install the iOS 18.1 update, do you get some Apple Intelligence features working.
In fact, the AI features are limited to US English for now, so even in India, iPhone 16 users need to change the language first and then see some of the features working, albeit with support for different versions of English. The glow light for Siri does work once you activate the AI features but still early days for the new Siri to show its value.
Apple is bringing back the buttons, or as it calls, Camera Control with the iPhone 16 series. The new button basically helps you open the camera and has a few nifty tweaks added into the software that lets you change the mode, exposure levels and more. The toggle feature on the Camera control did take some time for us to get used to but eventually we liked the integration, even though we are not sure about the need for one.
Moving to the cameras, you get a triple system once again with a 48MP primary sensor with OIS, 12MP periscope telephoto lens with OIS and a new 48MP ultrawide lens. The cameras benefit from the new styles integrated into the software that can be edited in both post and pre stage of clicking the photos.
You get a range box to make the change similar to most editing apps and Apple feels that it needs the photographic styles added by default. Does it make a difference, in most cases yes, especially if you like to experiment with new tones and shades for your shots. We liked its value for portraits where the different tones really show their versatility and the ease of making it happen within the camera app is underrated.
The iPhone 16 Pro is a polished compact flagship with the best hardware you can get and the new price in India definitely makes the whole deal sweeter. If you are on iPhone 14 or 15 models, the upgrade won’t be that drastic but anybody with a 3-year old iPhone can easily consider moving to the iPhone 16 Pro, especially if they want a flagship display, cameras and yes, Apple Intelligence supported.
