iPhone 16 is finally here! Specs & UK release date
Apple’s officially launched its latest iPhone 16 series, marking a new era for iPhones supercharged by Apple Intelligence.
Key takeaways
- Apple’s September Glowtime event has revealed a slew of new products including the iPhone 16 series, the Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4 and AirPods Max.
- Interestingly, Apple’s bucked the trend for major smartphone launches this year by not increasing the price of the iPhone 16. In fact, the models are a teensy bit cheaper.
- Pre-orders kick off on 13 September. The phones will officially go on sale from 20 September. We’re expecting to see a bunch of trade-in offers.
- Apple Intelligence will launch in October as a free software update, though the new era of Siri that can see what’s on your screen and take action won’t be available until a later date.
- The tech giant’s jumping two generations from the A16 to the A18 chip to support Apple Intelligence.
- The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in a new colour palette: ultramarine, teal and pink, alongside white and black.
- The 2 models have a new vertical camera layout to support spatial photos and videos. They now also have an Action button and boast larger batteries.
- All 4 models will come with a new Camera Control feature that can be used to control the camera with a slide gesture.
- Intriguingly, the iPhone 16’s camera array combines a 48MP main lens with a 2x telephoto lens, creating what its calling a ‘Fusion camera’.
- The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have been upsized, featuring a 6.3 and 6.9-inch display and the thinnest borders to date. They will be available in black, white, natural and desert colours. The latter resembles dusty gold.
iPhone 16 price in UK
The prices we’ve listed below are from Apple’s UK site.
| Model | Price |
|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 16 128GB | £799 |
| Apple iPhone 16 256GB | £899 |
| Apple iPhone 16 512GB | £1,099 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Plus 128GB | £899 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Plus 256GB | £999 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Plus 512GB | £1,199 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro 128GB | £999 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro 256GB | £1,099 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro 512GB | £1,299 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro 1TB | £1,499 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB | £1,199 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB | £1,399 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB | £1,599 |
iPhone 16 release date, pre-orders and availability in the UK
Now that Apple has finally unveiled the iPhone 16 series, our next reminder is going to be set for 13 September 2024 (Friday). Pre-order will begin at 1pm UK time. The phones will then officially go on sale on 20 September. On 20 September, the phones will start to ship to customers and first be available to buy in high street shops in the UK.
You can purchase the new iPhone from Apple directly alongside major UK mobile network operators, including EE, O2, Vodafone and Three. Popular retailers such as Currys, John Lewis, Very and Argos will also sell the new iPhone yet they won’t likely list the new Apple devices until Friday 13 September.
In the usual style for Apple launches, we’re expecting there to be trade-in offers available during the pre-order period.
iPhone 16 specifications
Here’s a quick look at the specs for the iPhone 16 lineup before we dive into the details.
| Model | iPhone 16 | iPhone 16 Plus | iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1 inches | 6.7 inches | 6.3 inches | 6.9 inches |
| Material | Aluminium with colour-infused glass back | Aluminium with colour-infused glass back | Grade 5 titanium with a new, refined microblasted finish | Grade 5 titanium with a new, refined microblasted finish |
| Processor | A18 | A18 | A18 Pro | A18 Pro |
| Cameras | 48-megapixel main fusion camera, 12MP telephoto lens and a new ultrawide camera with autofocus | 48-megapixel main fusion camera, 12MP telephoto lens and a new ultrawide camera with autofocus | 48MP Fusion camera, 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto lens | 48MP Fusion camera, 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto lens |
| Battery | Up to 22 hours video playback | Up to 27 hours video playback | Up to 29 hours video playback | Up to 29 hours video playback |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Colours | Ultramarine, teal, pink, white, black | Ultramarine, teal, pink, white, black | Black, white, natural, desert | Black, white, natural, desert |
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
The iPhone 16 is bringing colour to life with a back glass that features a bold, colour-infused design and a stunning array of colours including ultramarine, teal and pink.
The displays on both models can achieve up to 2,000 nits of brightness and can go all the way down to 1 nit in the dark.
There’s also a new customisable camera control button that gives you instant access to camera controls with just one click. Slide your finger, and you’ll unlock even more visual intelligence features to learn about objects and places around you faster. It’s similar to Google Lens.
Plus, the Action button also finally comes to the standard models. It lets you set shortcuts to specific apps or tasks such as easily accessing your torch or using it as a “do not disturb” button.
Under the hood, the iPhone 16 leaps ahead with the Apple Silicon chip, jumping from the A16 to the A18. It’s got a 6-core CPU that’s 30% faster than the one in the iPhone 15, more energy-efficient, and according to Apple, faster than anything else out there.
The standard models will feature a camera array with a ‘fusion camera’ which seems to be a combination of a 48-megapixel main lens and a a 12-megapixel telephoto lens.
The setup will also support a new ultrawide camera with autofocus so that you can capture spatial photos and videos – all viewable on Apple’s Vision Pro.
The A18 chip in the iPhone 16 is meant to be a powerhouse.
Its 6-core CPU is 30% faster and more efficient than the A16 Bionic, while the 5-core GPU speeds up graphics by up to 40%. With hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Game Mode, Apple promises stunning graphics and a smoother gaming experience.
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
Apple believes the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max are the most advanced iPhone models it has ever made, powered by the faster, more efficient A18 Pro chip and built for Apple Intelligence.
Both models boast a durable titanium design, larger displays and the thinnest models on any Apple product.
The new 48MP Fusion camera with a quad-pixel sensor offers 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision, the highest resolution and frame rate ever on an iPhone.
Plus, there’s a 48MP Ultra Wide camera, a 5x Telephoto lens, improved mics with studio quality and better graphics for an immersive gaming experience.
Apple Intelligence and a new era of Siri
Apple Intelligence is all about personalisation with privacy and it’s coming next month as a free software update.
According to Apple, it adapts to what you’re doing, but your data is never stored or shared – it all runs through a private cloud, seamlessly woven into your iPhone.
Some examples include:
- Expressing yourself just got a whole lot easier too. You can rewrite notes, tweak the tone of your messages, and even proofread content before you hit send. Want a new emoji? Just type out a description and boom, it’s there. Feeling creative? The Image Playground lets you whip up fun images in no time.
- Apple Intelligence can also look up old photos and videos in your library – all you have to do is give it a description.
- Need to stay on top of things? AI gives you email summaries and puts your most important notifications front and centre.
- When you start a recording during a call in the phone app, everyone on the call gets a notification. After the call ends, Apple Intelligence creates a summary to help you recall the key points.
And of course as anticipated, Siri’s also had a major upgrade.
Now powered by AI, she’s more natural, more personal, and follows along even if you stumble over your words. You can even type to Siri when you want to be discreet. From finding that TV show your brother raved about to sending photos from last weekend’s BBQ to your friend, Siri’s being pitted as the ultimate assistant.
Is upgrading to iPhone 16 worth it?
Honestly, it’s still a bit early to say for sure. It’s really going to depend on how much AI you fancy.
There are a lot of unknowns surrounding Apple Intelligence including how it’ll impact device performance. The beta version won’t be out until next month so there’s still a while to go before we can put it to the test.
