Welcome to September 2024, and the standard iPhone has just undergone its most significant functional transformation in years. The iPhone 16 is a 170g technical marvel that finally breaks the ‘pro-only’ barrier, inheriting the Action Button and a brand-new ‘Camera Control’ sensor. Finished in vibrant, colour-infused glass with a vertical camera layout designed for Spatial Video, it is a sleek, durable machine that marks the UK’s first major encounter with ‘Apple Intelligence.’ It is the most future-proof ‘base model’ Apple has ever produced.
The technical headline is the A18 chip. Built on a second-generation 3nm process, it jumps two generations ahead of the iPhone 15’s silicon to provide the massive memory bandwidth required for on-device AI. This power enables the ‘Camera Control’ button, a flush, sapphire-crystal-covered tactile switch with a high-precision force sensor and capacitive touch. It allows you to click to launch the camera, slide to zoom, or lightly press to adjust exposure. The dual-camera system features a 48-megapixel ‘Fusion’ lens and a new 12-megapixel ultra-wide with autofocus, bringing macro photography to the standard iPhone for the first time.
The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display remains peak-quality OLED, protected by the latest-generation Ceramic Shield that is 50% tougher than before. Connectivity is total with 5G, Wi-Fi 7 (a massive technical leap), and USB-C. Because of a larger battery and the efficiency of the A18, it offers up to 22 hours of video playback.