iPhone 16 review: No Mo’ Pro FOMO

I admit it, I’m extremely prone to FOMO. Whether it’s seeing friends post about their Euro summer holidays on Instagram while I’m stuck in trackies and uggs back in chilly Sydney or constantly hearing about that latest movie that I haven’t had a chance to watch yet, I hate the feeling of missing out.

For years, I’ve almost always opted for the base-level iPhone (simply because it’s the most affordable), and every time, I’ve fallen victim to what I like to call “Pro FOMO”. Seeing friends and colleagues with their flashy Pro models and their superior triple-lens cameras and buttery-smooth, always-on displays never failed to make me feel that Pro FOMO. Well, that is, until now.

This is the first time in years that the standard iPhone 16 hasn’t felt like a compromise, and for the first time ever, I’m free from Pro FOMO.

It’s not often that iPhones get less expensive with each iteration, but the iPhone 16 actually starts at $100 cheaper than the iPhone 15 when it launched last year. For the 128GB model, you’re looking at $1,399 outright, and for the 256GB and 512GB models, it’s $1,599 and $1,949 respectively.

If you’d rather pay off your device on a plan, here’s how much each storage option of the iPhone 16 will set you back over 24 or 36 months with Vodafone, Optus and Telstra.

In 2023, a.k.a. The Year of Barbie, we lamented the fact that the iPhone 15’s pink hue—and in fact all its available colours—was so dull. This year, it seems Apple has heard our feedback and cranked up the saturation, resulting in some deliciously vibrant colourways. In addition to your basic Black (which I tested) and White, there’s a much more Barbie-core Pink shade, a calming Teal option, and my favourite, the electric Ultramarine blue colour.

The iPhone 16 has the same dimensions as the iPhone 15, but upgraders will still need a new phone case, for a few new design reasons. This year’s model is a return to the vertically stacked camera bump first introduced in the iPhone X, albeit with much larger sensors. It’s also the first base model iPhone to add the Action Button, along with Apple’s new haptic Camera Control button, which poses a challenge for phone case manufacturers as it requires some level of exposure outside a case. Aside from those minor changes, it’s mostly business as usual for the rest of the phone’s aesthetics—the same squared-off edges with rounded corners, the same Dynamic Island, the same IP68 rating and the same display.

Speaking of the display, it’s really the only downside to this year’s hardware. Don’t get me wrong, it’s crisp and beautiful, but it’s 2024 and budget Android smartphones have sported displays with refresh rates higher than 60Hz for several years now. Although Apple was a little slow to catch on, it did eventually introduce its 120Hz ProMotion display to the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max in 2021. But the fact that a smartphone that costs $1,399 at a minimum still has the same 60Hz display as it has for generations is getting a bit ridiculous.

Last year’s iPhone 15 provided a significant upgrade on previous generations, bumping up the main lens from 12MP to 48MP. The iPhone 16 retains essentially the same setup, although the updated 12MP UltraWide lens can now take macro photos and Apple claims its 48MP main “Fusion” lens is capable of optical-quality 2x zoom. In practice, there wasn’t a noticeable improvement in the iPhone 16’s camera performance over its predecessor, with the exception of macro photography, which is a very welcome addition. But regardless of how minor the camera updates are, the iPhone 16 is still capable of taking some exceptional photos. The only small letdown is the occasional low-light scenario—it feels like the lighting conditions need to be just right in order to get a good nighttime snap.

If you’ve only heard one thing about this year’s iPhone lineup, I’d confidently bet it was the following two words: Apple Intelligence. Unfortunately, what you probably didn’t hear is that you can’t actually use it yet. That’s right, the flagship feature of the iPhone 16 lineup isn’t even available at launch—in fact, it’s not expected to drop in Australia until December. Not only is that a massive bummer for those keen to test out Genmoji, Photos Clean Up and Notification Summaries, but it makes me feel like I can’t give this phone a full, complete review when it’s missing such a key component. You may be able to test a few Apple Intelligence features by opting into the iOS Beta program, but we don’t recommend that for most people.

Fortunately, when Apple Intelligence is ready, the iPhone 16’s brand-new A18 chip should be well-equipped to handle whatever you can throw at it. Apple claims it’s optimised for large generative models and can run machine learning models two times faster than the A16 Bionic chip found on the iPhone 15. The CPU is also 30% faster while the GPU is up 40% faster, meaning the iPhone 16 can now support the same AAA games that were previously only available to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

In terms of day-to-day usage, it’s highly unlikely that you’d be able to tell the difference if you were coming from an iPhone 14 or 15. But if it’s your first upgrade in a few generations, the iPhone 16 offers noticeably faster performance whether you’re flicking between apps or playing a mobile game.

According to Apple, the battery life on the iPhone 16 should be two hours longer than that found on the iPhone 15, bringing it to 22 hours total of video playback. In practice, I’d say that estimate is reasonably accurate, as I was able to get through a full day of use (including far too many games of Marvel Snap) with still about a quarter left in the tank.

USB-C charging speed sadly remains at 20W, which isn’t terrible but hasn’t been improved since the launch of the iPhone 8. That was seven years ago, in case you were wondering. At least this year they’ve brought 30W MagSafe charging, so that’s something, I guess.

The best part of upgrading to a new iPhone after a few years is going from old to new and experiencing all the fresh features and innovations side-by-side. After all, if you’re upgrading, you want it to actually feel like an upgrade. But as great as I think the iPhone 16 is, I’m going to suggest something I, even as FOMO-prone as I am, almost never suggest—waiting.

We’re just a couple of short months away from Apple Intelligence’s debut and all the fun that comes with it. In fact, it’s expected to drop in December, so do yourself a favour and add it to your Christmas wish list. Until then, you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you: You’re not missing out.