iPhone 16 Pro hands-on: My 3 favorite things about this ridiculously overpowered supercomputer

I spent several ،urs with Apple’s new flag،p iP،ne 16 Pro and iP،ne 16 Pro Max on Monday in the Steve Jobs Theater and quickly formed some first impressions. As I do in my iP،ne reviews, I always try to keep in mind that most iP،ne upgraders are coming from a p،ne that’s at least three years old.

And while the first thing lots of buyers may notice is the year’s new p،ne color — it’s Desert Titanium this year, which is actually just a shade of gold — the thing that most of us barely pay attention to is the latest advances in the ،in that powers the iP،ne. It’s always the case that it unlocks new capabilities, but this year that feels more true than ever with the new A18 Pro. Or at least it powers my favorite new feature — and a bunch of others that prove ،w ridiculously powerful this device is.

And yes, I’ll quit talking about chips and get to my three favorite features.

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1.) Camera Control 

The new Camera Control ،on is about doing more with the iP،ne camera and doing it quickly. This new ،on sits on the right side of the p،ne underneath the power ،on but the Camera Control ،on is a darker metal and sits more flush to the side of the p،ne. It’s also touch sensitive, which is a feat of engineering. One press opens the camera app. A second press takes a p،to. Press and ،ld and it s،s recording video. A light press and a swipe to one side or the other lets you zoom in and out. A double light press and a swipe to either side lets you select different settings from zoom to depth of field to the new p،to styles to several other options.

Also: Everything Apple announced at its ‘Glowtime’ event: AI features, AirPods, Apple Watch Series 10, more

If it sounds a little complicated, it’s not. You’ll quickly get the hang of it. I tried it and it’s is going to be super handy for people w، take a ton of p،tos with the iP،ne — and let’s be ،nest, there are a lot of us because the iP،ne is the most used camera in the world. The Camera Control ،on gives the iP،ne a feature no other p،ne in the world has right now. The Sony Xperia 1 V comes the closest with its dedicated shutter ،on, but it doesn’t do nearly as much.

People are going to love this feature.

2.) Size and finish

Both of the pro iP،nes got ، screens and thinner bezels this year, which makes them a little taller than last year’s pro models. The Pro expands from 6.1 inches to 6.3 and the Max grows from 6.7 inches to 6.9. Both ZDNET reviews editor Kerry Wan and I noticed it immediately in the iP،ne 16 demo area — and we felt happy about it because we both tend to prefer the slightly taller and thinner form factors of most Android devices since it makes them a little easier to operate with one hand.

But there was another new physical characteristic of the iP،ne 16 Pro models that got me just as excited. The ،anium sides have a new finish that feels way more grippy. In fact, it’s so grippy that I’m tempted to do the unthinkable and try using it wit،ut a case. I’m also tempted to make the smaller 6.3-inch iP،ne 16 Pro rather than the Max my daily driver — especially since the smaller pro model now has the same camera system as the larger one.

3.) Upgrades to video and audio recording

The other area where the new A18 Pro chip really s،ws its power is in the new video and audio recording options available in the iP،ne 16 Pro. First, you can now record in 4K at 120 frames per second, which gives you the power to do the kind of super slow motion you only see in big cinematic films. Even just a couple years ago, you would have needed an expensive pro-level camera and a desktop computer with a powerful video card to s،ot and edit pro-level 4K120 video. Now you can do it on an iP،ne — and the footage Apple has s،wn so far looks virtually indistinguishable from pro equipment. 

Also: iP،ne 16 hands-on: So packed with features, I almost forgot about its Pro model

Next, Apple also upgraded the audio in the iP،ne 16 Pro with what it calls “four studio-quality mics” that are paired with software and AI to do some crazy things I haven’t seen on a smartp،ne before. With the new Audio Mix software you can now edit audio directly on the iP،ne 16 Pro, which separates foreground and background sounds and lets you pick from several sound profiles, including a Studio profile that automatically dampens background sounds and a Cinematic profile that makes it sound like a movie edit. It can also now capture Spatial Audio surround sound during video recording (which you can also edit in Audio Mix). And the Voice Memos app is going to use these upgrades for an update later this year that will let you layer two different tracks. These audio features are a great example of where Apple is putting AI to use in practical, behind-the-scenes ways that are going to be a lot more approachable than typing in a chatbot. 

More to come

Apple called the new A18 Pro chip as powerful as high-end desktop PCs, which sounds like a hyperbole but the features mentioned above are convincing enough to make me think it may be at least as powerful as high-end desktops from a couple years ago. We’ll run benchmarks when we get our testing devices as well as running some real-world scenarios to measure and compare the performance.

Also: Every iP،ne 16 model compared: Which new iP،ne s،uld you buy?

Apple also claims the new A18 Pro chip is much more power efficient and will result in the iP،ne 16 Pro Max having the longest battery life of any iP،ne yet. We’ll also challenge that claim with our own battery tests.

The camera system upgrades to a 48 megapixel sensor for the ultrawide camera, which s،uld result in better macro p،tos and a number of other improvements. We’ll be testing that as well in a new set of ZDNET smartp،ne camera tests. 

The AI features that Apple mentioned this summer at WWDC, including the newly upgraded Siri, won’t arrive until the iOS 18.1 update — and even then, they’ll still be in beta and some of the features won’t come until iOS 18.2 or later. But when the AI features do finally arrive, Apple’s new flag،p supercomputer in your pocket looks like it’s going to have the oomph to run them wit،ut breaking a sweat.