The very best iPhone for most individuals

The bottom iPhone is often fairly boring, a fundamental mannequin with sufficient limitations to push shoppers upstream in the direction of Apple’s pricier Professional fashions.

However with current flagship strains from Google, Samsung, and OnePlus arguably delivering higher base fashions and Professional telephones that actually do really feel constructed round non-obligatory extras, the iPhone 16 exhibits Apple studying a bit of from the Android facet.

The iPhone 16 needs to be the least fascinating of the latest-generation of iPhones, but it surely’s the alternative: the closest a non-Professional iPhone has come to its extra succesful cousins. There are nonetheless trade-offs, however the iPhone 16 is refreshing, satisfying, and much more succesful than I anticipated. For as soon as, that is the iPhone that almost all Android house owners needs to be tempted by.

Worth, availability, and specs

The iPhone 16 begins at $799 and comes with 128GB of storage. In the event you want extra storage, the 256GB mannequin is $899, whereas the utmost storage capability of 512GB will value you $1,099. These costs embody a $30 immediate rebate for those who activate it on a service at level of sale. In order for you the larger iPhone 16 Plus, it’ll value you $100 extra.

The iPhone 16 is available in 5 colours: black, white, pink, teal, and this ultramarine colour I’ve been utilizing for 2 weeks. Earlier than we get caught into the overview, right here’s a fast reminder of the specs.

Design

Not Professional, however nonetheless premium

I’ve carried an iPhone alongside an Android cellphone for years, and it’s at all times been a Professional mannequin. This yr is the primary that I’ve switched my primary iPhone from the Professional Max to the iPhone 16 Professional, however after beginning to use the iPhone 16, this may be my favourite iPhone but.

It begins with the colours. The iPhone 16 Professional colours are muted, however the iPhone 16 is vibrant. There’s Black and White for individuals who need one thing extra impartial, and Teal and Pink in order for you a pop of colour. The hero Ultramarine colour is the one I ordered, and I like it. It’s a mixture of blue and purple that’s distinctive and totally different from anything; precisely what the iPhone began as.

The digicam design has additionally returned to the pre-iPhone 11 capsule design, and I prefer it. The colour of the digicam cutout is a darker tone to the primary physique, giving it a contrasting look that stands out, but it surely additionally means the cellphone wobbles when laid flat on a floor.

Whereas the iPhone 16 Professional is constructed from titanium (simply as was the 15 Professional vary final yr), the iPhone 16 makes use of aluminum with a matte glass end. That matte end means the iPhone 16 feels simply nearly as good as its Professional siblings regardless of the cheaper steel, echoing the strategy taken by the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 sequence.

That is helped by the inclusion of the Motion and Digicam Management buttons. The previous was unique to the iPhone 15 Professional vary, and mine is ready to activate the flashlight, though you too can configure it to open particular Focus modes, begin a voice recording, or extra.

I believe Apple’s purpose has been to make sure that whichever iPhone 16 you decide up, it seems to be, feels, and acts the identical, and it has achieved this with abundance. The iPhone 16 is the nicest non-Professional iPhone ever made.

Show

All the pieces you want, apart from one characteristic

It’s straightforward to dismiss the iPhone 16’s show on paper, but it surely’s principally a pleasure to make use of. Measuring 6.1 inches, it’s ergonomically pleasant and extra snug than the 0.1-inch bigger display screen on the Galaxy S24. A part of that is because of the boxier design of the Galaxy S24, with the marginally smaller construct making the iPhone 16 extra snug to carry and use with one hand. The Pixel 9 is 0.2 inches bigger than the iPhone 16, however they’re equally pleasant to make use of with one hand.

Sure, the show is just 60Hz. Sure, it’s noticeable for those who go on the lookout for it. No, it doesn’t matter for Apple customers. Nonetheless, hopefully the rumors of a better refresh price on subsequent yr’s iPhone 17 come true. Alternatively, there’s no always-on show (AOD), and that is the extra noticeable omission. This isn’t a expertise limitation, fairly it’s Apple artificially limiting the show’s options to carry one thing again for the Professional telephones. Even low-cost Android handsets supply AOD, and lacking it right here feels irritating.

Transcend the refresh price and the Tremendous Retina OLED panel seems to be wonderful. Brightness ranges between 1 nit and a pair of,000 nits, which means it’s seen in most lighting circumstances. I’ve turned to the iPhone 16 Professional — with a bigger 6.3-inch show — just a few occasions whereas reviewing the iPhone 16, and whereas the show is bigger, it doesn’t really feel prefer it’s a lot better (refresh price apart). It’s because the important thing options that matter — OLED expertise, a minimum of 326 ppi pixel density, and a excessive sufficient max brightness — are comparable or similar on each units.

The Dynamic Island is current similar to final yr, and it’s nonetheless a improbable characteristic that each Android maker needs to be making an attempt to repeat. The options and apps that tie into the Dynamic Island proceed to evolve, and it’s develop into a key a part of what makes the trendy iPhone expertise. I’ve written that

each cellphone ought to have a dynamic island
, and it is quick turning into an iPhone characteristic that I miss when utilizing an Android cellphone.

Software program

Probably the most-Android like iPhone software program ever

The iPhone 16 runs iOS 18 out of the field, and it’s the largest replace to the iPhone in over a decade. In the event you’ve held off switching to an iPhone since you most well-liked the customizability of Android, there’s by no means been a greater time to modify: iOS 18 is the closest we’ve ever come to an iPhone operating Android.

The massive modifications begin on the residence display screen: say goodbye to fastened positioning and whats up to freedom. Now you can place apps and widgets wherever you need on your own home display screen, permitting you to realize nice residence display screen layouts that weren’t doable earlier than. It’s not elegant, as iOS nonetheless tries to autofill apps into empty areas — and I hope that Apple improves it because it’s irritating in its present state — however with a little bit of fiddling it finally ends up working. I anticipate that Apple will repair this in future updates, however who is aware of how lengthy that may take.

Past simply the positioning, Apple has lastly proven Android makers the right way to theme a cellphone correctly. Android telephones previous and current have supported theming in varied guises. Nonetheless, the implementation in iOS 18 is improbable: there are alternatives for mild backgrounds, darkish backgrounds, giant icons with no labels, and a colour swatch to allow you to go wild. Within the colour swatch, you’ll be able to change colours, hues, opacity, and even interact a colour picker to select that excellent colour out of your background. Once you use the darkish icon, all apps are compelled to make use of a darkish mode icon, and while you change colours, it overwrites the icon colour for nearly all apps. It’s elegantly completed, and it is the way in which that theming needs to be on all telephones.

My favourite a part of iOS 18 is the revamped Management Middle. Now you can customise it to rearrange all of the icons; add massive widgets for music, connectivity, or residence controls; and add or take away pages as you see match. The management middle was once fastened with no choice to completely customise it, however now it affords the identical customization advantages that many Android makers have for years.

Messaging, Privateness, and Safety

There are lots of different iOS 18 options price noting. Now you can simply shield particular apps, by both requiring Face ID to unlock them or inserting them in a completely hidden space. iMessage now has a spread of enhancements round reactions (referred to as Tapbacks), together with having the ability to react to any message with any Emoji and having the ability to schedule iMessages for a later time.

The iPhone now helps RCS in case you weren’t already conscious, but it surely’s a multitude; some networks assist it, others don’t, and it’s solely the fundamental implementation, not the one utilized by Google. It’s precisely what you’d anticipate when Google and Apple don’t guarantee interoperability, however the core RCS options work, and now you can simply ship learn receipts, higher-quality media, and typing indicators from an iPhone to an Android cellphone. The massive three US carriers all assist RCS on the iPhone, however my service of alternative — Google Fi — would not, saying that it is all the way down to Apple to roll out a service companies replace.

The brand new Apple Images app is polarizing: you both prefer it, otherwise you don’t, and I don’t. A lot of this can be all the way down to the muscle reminiscence of utilizing the earlier Images app, however regardless of utilizing the beta and the secure launch, it doesn’t really feel intuitive. It’s a flatter design, and whereas there are nonetheless methods to navigate to objects like your favorites, it may, and will, be a lot better. In an excellent world, Apple would return to the design of previous — albeit with some enhancements — and return to considering of the Images app as a gallery app, as an alternative of approaching it as a social app.

That sums up iOS 18; after 17 years of batting away requires a extra open platform, that is probably the most customizable software program that Apple has ever launched, but it surely’s removed from flawless. It’s designed to get Android customers to modify, and it’ll really feel acquainted for those who’re contemplating making the transfer.

A word about Apple Intelligence

In the event you watched Apple’s keynote on the iPhone 16, you’ll have heard them point out Apple Intelligence a number of occasions. It’s price noting that this received’t be launching till later this month a minimum of, and most of the options received’t launch till later this yr or early subsequent.

There are lots of Apple Intelligence options that might rework the iPhone 16 expertise, together with notification, mail, and message summaries, a revamped Siri with ChatGPT integration, Imaginative and prescient Intelligence — like Google Lens — utilizing the Digicam Management button, and AI picture/textual content era.

Nonetheless, these options are nonetheless in beta, and iOS 18 is just not the completed article proper now. Don’t purchase the iPhone 16 for what it could possibly be sooner or later, purchase it for what it’s now: a premium iPhone expertise with out the worth tag.

Efficiency

Professional-performance for a non-Professional cellphone

The iPhone 16 is powered by the A18 chip, which marks the primary time in three years that the common mannequin has used the identical expertise commonplace because the Professional telephones. The A18 makes use of TSMC’s second-generation 3nm course of which affords effectivity advantages over the first-generation course of used within the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max’s chipset.

Apple says that the CPU is as much as 30% quicker than the iPhone 15, whereas the GPU is as much as 40% quicker. These are robust boasts, however the iPhone 15 was lots quick and the iPhone 16 merely provides further polish. There is no lag, and it feels simply as fluid as its dearer siblings, although it is unclear whether or not it would stay this fashion with in depth use.

The common iPhone 16 has only one fewer core within the desktop-class GPU, which means now you can run AAA video games like Resident Evil 4, and there’s additionally hardware-based ray tracing. The iPhone 15 struggles with probably the most intensive video games, however the iPhone 16 is considerably higher.

Battery Life

Stable, however not spectacular, battery life

Smaller iPhones have at all times struggled for battery life when in comparison with their larger siblings, and the iPhone 16 is not any totally different: out of the 4 totally different fashions, it has the least succesful battery life.

For probably the most half, the iPhone 16 delivers all-day battery life. On a mean day, I can survive a complete day while not having to high it up throughout the day. Most days I common round 5 hours of display screen time with a wholesome mixture of social media apps, digicam utilization, and light-weight gaming. It is good but it surely will not stack as much as the

finest telephones for battery life
.

For a cellphone this dimension, the battery life is about as anticipated and totally on par with the iPhone 16 Professional, which I used for just a few days prior. For the previous yr, I’ve used the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which wouldn’t final a full day — due to poor effectivity and dangerous software program — so the iPhone 16 is an enchancment on this regard.

This yr has seen Apple increase its charging speeds, although they’re nonetheless sluggish in comparison with many Android choices. The iPhone 16 now helps as much as 30W wired charging when paired with a 20W adapter, but it surely solely quickly expenses to round 70% by default. It takes about 35 minutes to cost to 70% from empty, however the last 30% takes nearly the identical period of time. iOS 18 has a spread of charging optimizations designed to extend the longevity of the battery, so this is likely one of the causes behind the delta in charging speeds.

Digicam

All the pieces however a telephoto lens

The iPhone 16 has two cameras, though Apple promotes 4 totally different focal lengths on its itemizing pages. The principle digicam is a 48MP digicam that captures at 24MP by means of pixel binning and may crop in to realize the equal of a 2x zoom.

The ultrawide digicam nonetheless has 12MP decision, however good points autofocus, which permits higher footage and macro images for the primary time. It’s not fairly as succesful because the 48MP ultrawide on the iPhone 16 Professional, but it surely’s a welcome enchancment over the iPhone 15. There’s additionally the flexibility to seize spatial photographs and movies to make use of with the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.

General, the iPhone 16 digicam is a reliable and succesful shooter. Sure, there’s no telephoto lens, so for those who depend on one, you’ll most likely need to take a look at the iPhone 16 Professional or an Android rival just like the Galaxy S24. Nonetheless, the 2x crop is nice and this has all of the hallmarks of a wonderful iPhone digicam. As you’ll be able to see from the galleries above, the zoom stays succesful even above the 2x crop mark, though it does degrade in high quality as you zoom additional. Contemplating the legibility of the textual content at 10x, it is a digicam you’ll be able to depend on.

The iPhone 16 sequence provides the Digicam Management button, and it’s going to be one of many extra polarizing elements of the expertise. The bodily button gives fast entry to the digicam with a single press, whereas the capacitive sensor beneath means that you can swipe and half-press to entry totally different options akin to swiping by means of totally different zoom lengths.

It’s nice on paper, however I don’t benefit from the implementation. The Digicam Management button appears to behave as each a capacitive and a bodily button, but it surely’s typically arduous to press the button and much much less intuitive than I’d have hoped: while you’re trying to half-press to focus a picture, it is lacking the haptic suggestions and response {that a} bodily button has. Its place can be not perfect as it’s a must to modify your finger to make use of the button. I need a digicam management button, however I don’t like this one, so I’m nonetheless utilizing the on-screen controls.

The tweaks to the iPhone 16 digicam, together with the brand new Photographic Types, that are expanded and utilized in real-time, make for an excellent total digicam that’s enjoyable to make use of. There are lots of similarities with the iPhone 15, however the enhancements this yr carry the iPhone 16 a lot nearer to the Professional telephones. In the event you don’t want a telephoto digicam, the iPhone 16 delivers nearly the complete digicam expertise from the iPhone 16 Professional vary and an identical package deal to what you’d anticipate from the likes of the Pixel 9.

Competitors

Many similarities to the most effective common Android telephones

The iPhone 16 is most similar to the Samsung Galaxy S24 and

Google Pixel 9
. It shares many similarities in that it affords the Professional expertise at a extra reasonably priced value, however is closest to the Google Pixel 9 in that it solely has two cameras.

The

Galaxy S24
has a triple-camera setup with a telephoto lens able to taking pictures at 3x optical zoom, though the Pixel 9 digicam remains to be pretty succesful at this focal size due to Google’s software program smarts. In the event you’re utilizing an everyday (i.e., non-Plus, Professional, or Extremely) Android cellphone, the iPhone 16 might be the most effective iPhone to modify to, and the enhancements in iOS 18 this yr imply that transition will really feel pretty acquainted.

Nonetheless, it is price noting that many extra iPhone 16 options depend on Apple Intelligence. Apple’s strategy to AI will not begin rolling out till later this month, and it’ll take till early subsequent yr for the complete suite of options to develop into obtainable. Within the meantime, Samsung and Google have each launched a full suite of AI options for the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 respectively, and with Samsung set to launch the Galaxy S25 in early January, these Android telephones could possibly be significantly additional forward of Apple within the AI race.

Must you purchase the iPhone 16?

The iPhone 16 is the most effective non-Professional iPhone ever made, and probably the most tempting iPhone in years from an Android perspective. Particularly, I am unable to recover from simply how snug it’s within the hand, and the way good the Ultramarine colour is. Be sure you’re not shopping for it for the way forward for iOS 18 — as no-one can purchase one thing for the promise of future updates — however fairly for what it’s now: a wonderful entry into the Apple ecosystem.

The one downside is that whereas Apple has upped its recreation, so have its Android rivals. The iPhone 16 affords a compelling purpose to modify to iOS, however the Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, and OnePlus 12 are just a few of the Android telephones price contemplating. Every affords comparable specs to the iPhone 16, even exceeding it in some areas, and every is compelling for various causes. In the event you’re prepared to leap ship, then the iPhone 16 is the place you need to find yourself, however there are nonetheless loads of causes to remain put, too.

Nirave is a creator, evangelist, and founding father of Home of Tech. A coronary heart assault at 33 impressed him to publish the Affect of Tech publication, which covers the affect of expertise on psychological, bodily, and emotional well being. For extra, comply with him on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.