I have been deep-diving into everything iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, looking at all the updates we’re getting with the iPhone 16 Pro. Let me tell you, Apple is about to supercharge the iPhone, and it’s going to be a major update that will have everyone rushing to upgrade. I believe it’s going to lead more Android users to switch, as Apple is easing up on some of its stricter policies and introducing significant advancements in its AI capabilities.
Larger Screen Size
There are many reasons why I think the iPhone 16 Pro will be a super cycle year, but the biggest reason is also the most obvious: it’s rare for Apple to increase the screen sizes on their phones. This year, however, we are getting larger iPhones overall, with the 6.1-inch model moving up to 6.3 inches and the 6.7-inch model moving up to 6.9 inches. If there’s anything I know about the average phone user, it’s that size matters. People love big phones, and these are going to be Apple’s biggest phones ever. They’re also getting a slightly new design with even more reduced bezels around the display, giving Apple once again the top spot for the smallest bezels ever on the phone. This is a significant design upgrade that will attract Android users who love bigger phones.
Customization Options
Additionally, the changes in iOS 18 are making the iPhones more like Androids with enhanced customization options, such as moving icons anywhere you want on your phone, recoloring icons, and adding even more customization to the Control Center. Android users might find these features laughable, but Apple’s easing of strict policies means fewer reasons for people to choose an Android phone over an iPhone.
New Design
Apple is also changing other elements of the phone design. They might be switching to a polished titanium frame for an even more premium look, and introducing new color choices like a new titanium gray and the return of rose gold. The sides of the phones will feature a new capture button for quicker access to taking photos, which may be capacitive, enabling features like sliding your finger along the button to zoom in and out. In fact, all of the buttons on the iPhone 16 Pro may not be real buttons but haptic buttons. Given how much I love the haptic home button on the previous iPhone 7 design and how great haptics feel on Apple’s trackpads, I’m actually okay with this change.
Camera Upgrades
Of course, every year I get excited for the camera upgrades coming to the iPhone models. The iPhone 15 Pro Max introduced so many features with a new 5x camera, log video, and the ability to connect new accessories to the USB-C port, like external storage. The iPhone 16 Pro will take this even further. Both models will get an upgrade to the 5x zoom lens and a major upgrade to the ultra-wide angle camera, increasing the resolution from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. Each lens of the iPhone camera is rumored to get a new optical coating that will further reduce glare and may finally eliminate those annoying camera lens flares at night.
The iPhone 16 Pro is also rumored to get a main camera sensor upgrade, possibly using Sony’s latest sensor stack technology, making the sensor twice as light-sensitive as the previous model. This means you’ll get a major low-light boost to your photos and videos.
Battery Life
Battery life is another upgrade everyone loves. With both iPhones increasing in size this year, it’s widely rumored that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will get bigger batteries. Although it’s only a 2-5% increase in total battery capacity, this will lead to the iPhone 16 Pro Max having the most battery life out of any iPhone ever.
However, all of these upgrades pale in comparison to the true reason why the iPhone 16 Pro is going to be amazing this year: the chip. The A8 Pro chip will finally make an important distinction this year. While in the past few iPhone cycles, you might have thought the iPhone was already fast enough, this year will be different with Apple Intelligence.
AI Features
The biggest highlight for me at WWDC 2024 was all of Apple’s new AI features. There are so many, like having your iPhone help with checking your grammar, composing writing apps or emails, and even changing the tone of your writing to make an email sound more professional. You can also summarize longer texts like emails or lecture notes or create tables automatically. By the time the iPhone 16 Pro comes out, I’m not writing any more of these video scripts; my entire channel will be run by Apple Intelligence because I’m sure it’s smarter than me.
And that’s not even the end of all the AI features coming to the iPhone 16 Pro. It will also be able to generate images on the fly, all on-device, not even relying on a cloud server. It will have access to Gen Emoji, so you can create custom emojis right on your phone. The first time your friend sends you an unhinged Gen Emoji in iMessage and you can’t replicate it, you’ll be rushing to the Apple Store.
Apple Intelligence
The most important reason to get an iPhone 16 Pro is really all the quality of life improvements Apple Intelligence will bring to your daily life, starting with a smarter Siri. Siri will finally live up to the promise of being a competent virtual assistant, understanding natural language better, having more awareness of your requests, and taking actions across apps with more nuance and personal context. Siri can also be aware of what you’re currently doing onscreen, such as sharing your ETA, and photos, or looking up information you stored on your phone.
Apple Intelligence will proactively help you throughout your day without you doing anything. For example, it can automatically filter priority notifications, summarize them, sort through your emails to generate priority emails, and even smart replies to emails for you. These practical, helpful features will make the iPhone 16 Pro feel different from past iPhones.
Apple Intelligence on iPhone Models
Most of these Apple Intelligence features are running directly on the device, and right now, the only iPhone that Apple Intelligence will work on when it comes out in the fall is the iPhone 15 Pro. However, the majority of iOS 18 software updates, particularly the AI features, are not coming to older iPhones. When the iPhone 16 Pro launches with Apple Intelligence, it has the potential to radically change what you expect your phone to be capable of and how you use your phone. The new AI features will require a powerful chip, making the iPhone 16 Pro faster at these AI tasks than the iPhone 15 Pro.
What to Expect Next?
I believe there may be some advanced AI features that Apple hasn’t shown off yet, which will run exclusively on the iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple’s approach to AI is very consumer-friendly and practical, making it accessible and simplified. It’s AI for the rest of us, and that will resonate with people, driving an influx of upgrades this year.
As for when you can expect the iPhone 16 Pro to come out, we are about three months away from the release date, which is expected in mid-September.
