Apple unveils iPhone 16 and 16 Plus: Big performance, sleek design, and AI innovations

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in five colours: black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine. Picture: Apple.

Apple has just announced the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, with design and camera functionality upgrades and a focus on integrating AI-powered features. The iPhone 16 lineup promises to be faster, smarter, and more customisable than ever.

New design

The iPhone 16 has a fresh, vibrant look and a durable aerospace-grade aluminium body made from 85% recycled materials. The colours — ultramarine, teal, pink, black, and white — are bold and refined. For those concerned about durability, Apple has upgraded the Ceramic Shield glass to be 50% tougher, making this iPhone more resistant to drops and scratches.

It also comes in two sizes — 6.1 inches for the iPhone 16 and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 16 Plus.

Customisable Action Button and Camera Control

One of my most exciting features is the new customisable action button. This small addition allows users to assign shortcuts for different tasks with just a press. I can see how useful it will be to program the button to turn on my flashlight at night or launch my favourite apps quickly. You can even use it to lock and unlock your car if you’re using compatible apps.

But what really stands out is the new camera control. With a quick click, you can access the camera instantly, and adjusting features like zoom or depth is as simple as sliding your finger. I’ve always found it frustrating to miss capturing a perfect moment because the camera controls take too long. The iPhone 16 seems to fix that, making photo and video capture more intuitive.

A18 chip and Apple Intelligence

Apple’s new A18 chip is the driving force behind many of the iPhone 16’s enhancements. With a 16-core neural engine, this chip is specifically designed to run Apple Intelligence, Apple’s next-gen AI technology. According to Apple, the A18 chip is up to 30% faster than its predecessor and uses 30% less power, making it powerful and energy-efficient.

This neural engine is key to the iPhone 16’s AI capabilities, built into the core user experience. Features like language translation, personalised recommendations, and even the ability to generate emojis from text descriptions show that Apple is thinking ahead about how we interact with our devices.

Starting at €979, it’s available for pre-order now and hits shelves on September 20th.