Apple iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus launched with Dynamic Island, Action Button; see India pricing & availability

Apple has officially launched iPhone 16 series during its Glow Time event, bringing some exciting changes to the non-Pro models The new lineup, consisting of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, borrows some Pro features, like the Dynamic Island and Action Button, packed away in its stylish yet familiar design. Let's take a look at what the new iPhones have to offer.

The iPhone 16 series boasts a sleek design, made with aerospace-grade aluminum and color-infused back glass in five new shades. The iPhone 16 features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, while the iPhone 16 Plus offers a larger 6.7-inch screen, with a remarkable 2,000 nits of brightness. Both models now include the Dynamic Island, eliminating the traditional notch and enhancing screen functionality. They even come with water and dust resistance for added protection and durability.

A standout addition is the customizable Action button, which users can program for various functions such as recording voice memos, identifying songs, and controlling the camera. This button allows intuitive camera control—users can adjust settings by sliding their finger and use a tactile switch for various interactions. 

Powering the iPhone 16 is the new A18 chip, featuring a 16-core neural engine and built on second-generation 3nm technology. This chip delivers a substantial 30% performance improvement over the previous A16 Bionic chip.

Apple Intelligence, a key feature of the iPhone 16, integrates advanced AI capabilities into iOS 18, supported by Private Cloud Compute for enhanced privacy. This system enables large-scale generative models while ensuring user data remains secure. AI functionalities include text rewriting, tone adjustment, emoji creation from descriptions, and image generation based on user inputs. Siri has been upgraded to offer more contextually aware responses and actions.

The iPhone 16 series introduces an advanced dual-camera system elegantly housed in a glass capsule, featuring a 48MP main lens with a 2x telephoto option and a 12MP ultrawide lens. The cameras offer improved low-light performance, macro photography, and new functionalities such as Spatial photos and videos. Enhanced audio processing technology also eliminates unwanted wind noise from recordings. The redesigned photo app provides better organization and cleanup tools to remove background disturbances or objects.

The iPhone 16 supports AAA games like Resident Evil BioHazard and includes the latest iOS 18, bringing new features and improvements to the user experience. The Camera Control feature enhances the photography experience with a tactile switch and high-precision sensors, allowing users to quickly launch the camera, take photos, and start video recordings. Coming soon is a new feature called Visual Intelligence, which will further enrich user interactions, enabling functions like identifying objects and integrating with third-party tools such as Google Search and ChatGPT.

Pricing and availability

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in ultramarine, teal, pink, white, and black, with storage options of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The iPhone 16 starts at Rs 79,900 for 128GB, while the 256GB and 512GB models will be priced at Rs 89,900 and Rs 1,09,900, respectively. As for the iPhone 16 Plus, the pricing starts at Rs 89,900 for 128GB, Rs 99,900 for 256GB and Rs 1,19,900 for 512GB variant.

Pre-booking for the new iPhones will commence this Friday, and sales will begin September 20.