Apple updated the AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case in September 2023. Other changes at the time included improved IP54-rated dust resistance for both the earbuds and the case, and lossless audio with Apple's Vision Pro headset.
Apple says all of its refurbished products undergo "full functionality testing" and are "put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection."
Keep in mind that Amazon is currently selling brand new second-generation AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case for $189.99 in the U.S., which is a much better deal than Apple's refurbished store is offering for the earbuds.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon.
Alongside the iPhone 16 models, Apple launched its next-generation flagship AirPods, the AirPods 4. There's a new design and for the first time, Active Noise Cancellation, so we thought we'd check them out to see how they compare to the prior-generation AirPods 3 and the AirPods Pro 2.
There are two versions of the AirPods this time around, an entry-level $129 model, and a $179 model that also includes Active Noise Cancellation. ANC has previously been exclusive to the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Max, and this is the first time that Apple's used it in an open-ear headphone design and in a device at the sub-$200 price point.
Apple tweaked the design of the AirPods, introducing a shape that's supposed to fit more ears. The revamp took into account millions of scans of different ears to get a more comfortable, snug fit for people. In practice, the design isn't that much different, but if you have had trouble keeping AirPods secured in your ears, you might have luck with the new shape.
ANC typically comes in headphones or earbuds that have some kind of seal with the ear canal, but that's not the case here. Apple did not add silicone tips like it has for the AirPods Pro 2, so the ANC isn't going to cut out sound quite as well as earbuds where you get a seal. That said, the ANC is pretty decent at cutting down on annoying ambient noise like ACs, the drone of an airplane engine, and similar sounds.
Apple upgraded both models with the same H2 chip that's used in the AirPods Pro 2, and it's an upgrade over the H1 that was in the AirPods 3. Sound quality is about on par with the AirPods Pro 2 as a result, and the feature set is the same in terms of support for spatial audio, Voice Isolation, Personalized Volume, Transparency in the ANC version, and other functions. If you're coming from AirPods 3 and upgrading to AirPods 4, you'll definitely notice the boost in sound quality.
Apple slimmed down the AirPods case, and it's tiny. Cutting case size sacrificed MagSafe charging though, so while the $179 model supports Qi-based wireless charging, it does not have a magnet inside. The more affordable model doesn't have wireless charging at all. The button at the back for pairing and setup is gone, but there's actually a hidden button at the front for these features.
Battery life has actually gone down compared to the AirPods 3. You'll get up to five hours of listening time with a single charge instead of six hours, and a little less with ANC turned on. There's still 30 hours of total listening time with the case, even though it's smaller than before.
The case for the more expensive model also has a built-in speaker for Find My, so if you misplace your AirPods, you can get the case to play a sound so you can find them. This isn't a feature of the cheaper version, but it still has general Find My connectivity so you can locate it on a map.
For the $179 price, the AirPods 4 with ANC offer a pretty robust feature set, and at $129, the version sans ANC is competitive with many other cheaper Bluetooth headphones on the market. The main benefit of AirPods with Apple devices is the automatic pairing and device switching, which you can't get with competing products.
It was another busy week in the Apple universe, bookended by the release of iOS 18 and other major operating system updates on Monday and the launch of all of the brand-new hardware on Friday.
In addition to taking thorough looks at iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, the iPhone 16, and more, we're also keeping an eye out for more updates coming from Apple, which could arrive as soon as next month with another event of some kind, so read on below for all the details!
Apple Releases iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 With Home Screen Customization, App Locking, Passwords App, and More
One significant piece of iOS 18 has yet to debut, however, and that's the suite of Apple Intelligence features Apple has been promoting since WWDC in June. The first of these AI-driven features will be appearing in iOS 18.1 and related updates next month, with more to follow in subsequent updates.
And one final note: M4 iPad Pro owners should be aware that Apple has pulled the iPadOS 18 update for those models after a number of users reported failed installations that bricked their devices. We're still awaiting a revised version of the update that avoids the issue.
Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More
Highlights of macOS Sequoia include an iPhone Mirroring feature that lets you interact with your iPhone from your Mac while your phone stays locked and across the room or in a bag, a new Passwords app, and improved window tiling for multitasking, but also make sure to browse through our full guide covering 50 macOS Sequoia features that are worth checking out.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Orders Start Arriving to Customers
All of Apple's new products, including the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4, and tweaked versions of other Apple Watch models and AirPods Max, are now officially available as of Friday, September 20. We've started to go hands-on with Apple's latest hardware, beginning with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Early media reviews of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models have been relatively positive, although many of the updates are fairly iterative and more powerful Apple Intelligence features these devices have been optimized for aren't coming until later.
Apple Watch Series 10 Reviews: Solid Upgrade With an Unexpectedly 'Mind-Blowing' Feature
Other feature highlights include new casing materials and finishes, sleep apnea detection (also available for the Series 9 and Ultra 2), the ability to play audio through the watch's speaker, and surprisingly good voice isolation that ensures you can be heard when taking phone or FaceTime calls on your watch in noisy environments.
AirPods 4 Reviews: 'An Almost-Perfect AirPods Pro Alternative'
Two new AirPods 4 models are also incoming, including one entry-level model and one with active noise cancellation and an upgraded case offering wireless charging and a speaker for Find My support.
Early reviews of the AirPods 4 have praised the sound quality and comfort improvements, the active noise cancellation despite a lack of silicone tips to seal in the ear canal, and the slimmer case. Overall, many feel they are an excellent alternative to the AirPods Pro for those looking to spend a bit less or who prefer the open-ear design.
M4 Macs and iPad Updates Expected at Upcoming Apple Event
The Mac mini may be the star of the show with a rumored redesign that will shrink it to around the size of an Apple TV but still offer as many as five USB-C ports and other connectivity options. A new iPad mini is also expected at the event, and while an 11th-generation iPad has also seemed likely, a new report suggests the timing may not be quite right for it just yet.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
With a budget of $75 million, Danny Boyle's "28 Years Later" will become the first major blockbuster movie to be shot on iPhone, WIRED reports.
Jodie Comer on the set of "28 Years Later" with an iPhone 15 Pro Max camera rig (right).
The upcoming post-apocalyptic British horror movie was shot over the summer using the iPhone 15 Pro Max as the principal camera, along with additional equipment such as aluminum cages and lens attachments. The filmmakers behind 28 Years Later apparently received technical assistance directly from Apple. 28 Years Later is the sequel to "28 Days Later" (2002) and "28 Weeks Later" (2007), which depict the aftermath of a zombie-style pandemic in the United Kingdom.
The original 28 Days Later movie was largely shot in 480p standard definition with a Canon XL-1 – a consumer-grade camcorder that wrote data to MiniDV tapes. This was partly due to the need to film complex scenes depicting an abandoned central London under very limited time constraints, where bulky traditional film cameras would have taken too long to set up. The unique shot-on-digital aesthetic subsequently became an iconic part of the movie, so the use of iPhones to shoot the latest addition to the series seems to pay homage to the original film's use of camcorders. The Oscar-winning cinematographer of the original movie, Anthony Dod Mantle, is also returning alongside Boyle.
Several smaller-scale movies have already been shot with iPhones, such as Sean Baker's "Tangerine" (2015) and Steven Soderbergh's "Unsane" (2018), but these films were limited-release, low-budget titles compared to the upcoming Boyle movie. 28 Years Later is expected to be the first of a new trilogy of films scripted by Alex Garland. The breakout star of the original movie, Cillian Murphy, is also expected to return. 28 Years Later is set for release on June 20, 2025.
This week's best deals includes our exclusive discount at Anker, offering 20% off nearly everything on the retailer's website. Other than the Anker deals, you can also find big discounts on M2 iPad Air, AirPods, and early Prime Day deals at Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This week we partnered with Anker to offer our readers an exclusive 20 percent discount on Anker's best chargers, portable batteries, and more. You'll need to enter the code akmacrumors20ch at checkout to see the discount, and can find more information about what accessories work with the code in our original post.
New record low prices hit Apple's M2 iPad Air this week, with the highlight being the 128GB Wi-Fi 13-inch iPad Air for $719.99, down from $799.99. All of the tablets in this sale require you to clip an on-page coupon in order to see the final deal price on Amazon.
Apple just released the new AirPods 4, but if you want to save money and purchase an older model there are still some great discounts available on Amazon. The AirPods 2 is on sale for $89.00 and the AirPods Pro 2 is on sale for $189.99, both of which represent solid second-best prices on each accessory.
iPad
What's the deal? Take up to $130 off 9th gen iPads
Best Buy still has steep discounts on the 9th generation iPad as we head into the weekend, including the 64GB Wi-Fi tablet for just $199.99, down from $329.99. You can also find a $130 discount on the 256GB Wi-Fi model.
Amazon announced that Prime Day is returning October 8-9, and you can already find a few very early discounts this week. These sales are mainly focused on Amazon branded products like Fire TVs and Fire tablets, but it'll keep expanding to include more items as October 8 grows closer.
Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.
Happy iPhone 16 launch day! iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models are now in the hands of customers around the world. We took a look at the iPhone 16 already, and now we're back with an unboxing and quick review of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, Apple's higher-end flagship devices.
Unboxing a new iPhone got a little more boring this year, because for the first time, Apple's removed the stickers from the box. No more stickers and no more charger - there's just an iPhone and a cable in there.
Early leaks of the new "Desert" titanium shade made it look rather unappealing, but in person, the color is a soft, subtle gold with a darker shade on the casing and a lighter shade at the back. It's not ugly at all, and there's even a bit of pink in there so in some light, it's close to a rose gold. We've also got a white titanium iPhone 16 Pro, and it's fine. It's like the white titanium from last year, and there's not much more to say about it. The Pro colors are undeniably boring, especially compared to the lovely teal, pink, and ultramarine shades Apple used for the iPhone 16 models.
Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are larger in size and the bezels have been slimmed down. The thinner bezels are noticeable in person, even compared to the iPhone 15 Pro models. If you've got an even earlier iPhone, it's a big difference. The 16 Pro Max definitely feels a little larger in the hand, and the 16 Pro is closer to a Goldilocks size.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have the same feature set this year with the exception of display size and battery life. You'll get the most battery out of the 16 Pro Max because a bigger casing allows for a bigger battery, but there are improvements to both models.
There's a new Camera Control button on the right side of all the iPhones, and it's used for opening the Camera app to take photos and videos. A quick double press takes a photo, and a press and then a press and hold captures video, which is convenient. It's easier to use in landscape mode than portrait mode, and all those gestures for adjusting settings do take some time to get used to.
We've got some demo images in our video, and also, we've shot this entire review using the 16 Pro and Pro Max so you can check out the video quality. These models support 4K 120fps recording, and you can adjust frame rate in post. Apple added an Audio Mix feature for customizing sound in video too, and we've used that here as well. You can block out sound around the person you're recording or direct all noise forward like in a movie, and Audio Mix is also customizable with a slider control.
For your photos, there are new Photographic Styles that you can customize to get the perfect look for all of your images. You can use a new dial pad to go dramatic or subtle, and your personalized style can be applied in real time, in editing, to all photos, or just to one.
Apple added a new 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera so you'll get better lighting in those wide shots or when taking macro photos, and the 5X zoom is now on both models. We're going to be doing a deep dive into the camera next week, so stay tuned for that.
If you're coming from a newer iPhone, you're probably not going to notice much in terms of speed improvements with the new A18 Pro chip, because most of what you do on an iPhone isn't stressing the processor. It'll make a difference for Apple Intelligence, but of course unless you install the iOS 18.1 beta, no Apple Intelligence features are available to use yet.
Did you get a new iPhone 16 or 16 Pro? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Following today's launch of the new iPhone 16 models, Apple has shared repair manuals for the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The repair manuals provide technical instructions on replacing genuine Apple parts in the iPhone 16 models, and Apple says the information is intended for "individual technicians" that have the "knowledge, experience, and tools" that are necessary to repair electronic devices.
Compared to prior iPhone models, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are easier to repair. Apple is using an electric battery removal process, and the steps for accessing a battery to replace it are outlined in a separate support document. Per Apple's instructions, a 9-volt battery and 9-volt battery clips can be applied to the iPhone 16 battery to remove the adhesive that holds it in place.
Note that the simpler electricity-based battery removal process is limited to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. For the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, Apple is using standard adhesive tabs that need to be carefully pulled to release the battery.
Apple's instructions for all of the battery repairs include expensive equipment like an iPhone battery press to put a replacement battery back in place. The cost of the tools required for device repair and the cost of genuine components make self repair almost as expensive as getting a repair from an Apple retail location or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, so these manuals are really aimed at independent repair shops rather than individual consumers.
Apple made other changes to the iPhone 16 models this year to improve repairability, enabling on-device configuration for the Face ID camera, allowing LiDAR Scanner repair, and offering support for swapping the TrueDepth camera modules between iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models.
In addition to offering repair instructions, Apple's manuals provide some insight into the internal structure of the new iPhones that we often don't see until there are device teardowns. The iPhone 16 Pro, for example, has a metal casing for the battery, a change made for thermal reasons, and both Pro models have new casing structure that improves heat dissipation.
In an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, Apple has acknowledged an issue with installing iPadOS 18 on iPad Pro models with the M4 chip. We first reported on this issue earlier this week.
The memo, obtained by MacRumors, states that a "small number" of these iPad Pro models are unable to power on after a customer attempted to install iPadOS 18 on the device. Apple is working to resolve the issue, and it has made iPadOS 18 unavailable on affected iPad Pro models in the meantime, according to the memo.
Apple has advised technicians to attempt a force restart of a customer's iPad Pro model, if the device has experienced this issue.
It is unclear how long it will take for Apple to identify and implement a fix.
We don't mean to take away from the excitement of the iPhone 16 launch today, but there are more rumors to share about next year's iPhone 17 lineup.
Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants today informed MacRumors that the standard iPhone 17 and a slimmer model that we are calling the "iPhone 17 Air" will both feature ProMotion, meaning that each device's display would be able to ramp up to a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling and video content when necessary.
ProMotion would also allow the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air displays to ramp down to a more power-efficient refresh rate. iPhone 13 Pro models can ramp down to 10Hz, while iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 16 Pro models can go as low as 1Hz, allowing for an always-on display that shows various Lock Screen elements even when the device is locked. It is unclear if the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air would ramp down to 10Hz or 1Hz.
The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus still have 60Hz displays.
Young has a good track record with display-related information about future Apple products, including being the first source to reveal that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max would feature larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 17 series in September 2025.
Halfbrick Studios is a game company best known for super popular iOS titles like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, which have historically been freemium titles. Starting last year, Halfbrick decided to go with a different monetization model, offering all of its games for a low monthly fee.
Halfbrick+, a $2.99 per month service (or $30/year), offers a bunch of updated takes on classic iOS games, with more titles added regularly. You can play without ads, in-app purchases, or irritating freemium game mechanics that limit gameplay unless you shell out more money.
The service soft launched late last year, but it's ramping up as Halfbrick has worked to add multiple games in 2024. Titles include Fruit Ninja Classic, Dan the Man Classic, Jetpack Joyride Test Labs, Bears vs. Art, Lazy Dog, Monster Dash, and tons more, with a full list available on the Halfbrick+ website. New games are coming on a regular basis, as Halfbrick is developing its own titles exclusively for Halfbrick+, and working with other game developers to bring classic titles to the service.
Just today, Halfbrick+ gained Mega Jump, an arcade platformer where the goal is to jump as high as possible while avoiding monsters and collecting coins. It's one of those classic iPhone titles that you likely played years and years ago, but it's back and better than ever with no IAP through Halfbrick+.
In a couple of weeks, Nimble Quest will join Halfbrick+. If you're unfamiliar with Nimble Quest, it's a fun little game that uses the classic snake mechanic. Players control a conga line of heroes, destroying enemies, collecting new heroes, and gathering treasure.
There are some obvious similarities between Halfbrick+ and Apple's own Apple Arcade subscription service, but Halfbrick is focusing on a more curated experience with well-loved game mechanics and the addictive gameplay that Halfbrick is known for. The $2.99 price point is purposely aggressive to keep it affordable for players, and there is a one-month free trial for anyone who wants to give the service a go.
While the iPhone 16 series just began arriving to customers today, there are already rumors about the next-generation iPhone 17 series.
In a post shared on social media platform X on Thursday, display industry analyst Ross Young said he believes that next year's iPhone 17 Pro will feature under-display Face ID. This change would presumably extend to the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Under-display Face ID has been rumored for several years, but it has failed to materialize. However, Young has a good track record with display-related information about future Apple products, including being the first source to reveal that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max would feature larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively. If he says the iPhone 17 Pro will have under-screen Face ID, there is a good chance it will.
In April 2023, Young shared a roadmap that showed both iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID, but he said the devices would still have a hole in the screen for the front camera. He does not expect both under-display Face ID and an under-display front camera until the iPhone 19 Pro models in three years from now.
With under-display Face ID, the iPhone 17 Pro models could have only a single hole at the top of the display, similar to recent Android smartphones from Samsung and Google. However, no specific design changes have been rumored yet.
Another unanswered question: Will the Dynamic Island live on with under-display Face ID?
With the iPhone 17 series still a year away, there is plenty of time remaining for additional rumors, which should give us a better idea of what to expect.
Apple's iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max launched in markets around the world on September 20. If you're the new owner of one of Apple's latest models, then keep reading. Whether you're upgrading from an older iPhone or completely new to the devices, this article will help you get the most out your iPhone 16.
With the first round of pre-ordered devices now in the hands of customers and availability in stores, MacRumors has put together the following series of dedicated iPhone 16 how-to articles explaining all the new features that can be found on Apple's newest models.
All iPhone 16 models come with iOS 18 pre-installed. During the iOS 18 beta testing process from June to September, MacRumors wrote a series of in-depth feature guides highlighting every major new addition, plus how tos that walk you through using the new features. Be sure to refer to our ultimate walkthrough, and check out our new charging options how-to and AirPods Pro 2 new features roundup, to get yourself up to speed.
YouTube channel REWA Technology today shared an iPhone 16 Pro teardown video, offering a first look inside of the device following its release.
Notably, the video reveals that the smaller iPhone 16 Pro is equipped with a metal-enclosed battery, confirming a rumor from last year. The battery has a capacity of 3,582 mAh, which matches the figure that surfaced earlier this week in a Brazilian regulatory filing. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro has a 3,274 mAh battery.
According to Apple, some iPhone 16 batteries use an adhesive that can be easily loosened with low-voltage electrical current, such as from a 9V battery. TechCrunch said this change applies to the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, but not to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The teardown video did not test the low-voltage removal process on the iPhone 16 Pro, but it does reveal that the device's battery still has adhesive pull tabs, which suggests that the new process might indeed be limited to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
Meanwhile, a separate teardown video appears to show that the iPhone 16 Pro Max still has a battery enclosed in black foil instead of metal.
Apple announced that all four iPhone 16 models feature internal design changes for improved heat dissipation. In the teardown video, the iPhone 16 Pro's chassis appears to have a larger thermal sheet compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. Metal-enclosed batteries could also contribute to the heat dissipation improvements.
The video also reveals that the iPhone 16 Pro has a slightly more compact logic board compared to the one in the iPhone 15 Pro, and a few other changes.
Repair website iFixit will likely share its own iPhone 16 teardowns later.
iOS 18 has now been officially released after months of beta testing. On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through our top features in Apple's latest major software update.
We go through some of iOS 18's significant system changes, including the redesigned Control Center and new Home Screen customization tools, as well as some of the smaller quality-of-life enhancements such as the Passwords app, RCS support, improvements to the Notes app, and emojis as tapbacks in Messages. We also touch on iPhone mirroring in macOS Sequoia, and some of the areas we'd like to see Apple work on for next year's updates. The next major version of iOS 18 will be iOS 18.1, which will start to bring Apple Intelligence to ordinary users around the world. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips:
If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our discussion about the Apple Watch Series 10, iPhone 16 lineup, AirPods 4, and everything else that was announced at Apple's "It's Glowtime" event.
The MacRumors Show is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.
In a recent interview with Engadget, Apple's vice president of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron and AirPods marketing director Eric Treski explained how the company was able to add "great" active noise cancellation (ANC) to the higher-end AirPods 4, even though the earbuds have an "open-ear design" without silicone ear tips.
Apple said the H2 chip and "computational audio" were significant factors in adding ANC to the standard AirPods for the first time.
"It's even computationally more intense in many ways than it is with the AirPods Pro," said Bergeron, in regards to ANC on the AirPods 4.
"It's really, really hard to create this great ANC quality in a non-ear-tip product," said Treski. "The power of the H2 allows that, so we're actually doing a lot with the H2 chip to manage ANC quality and listen from the mics for environmental noise to make sure we're canceling as much as possible."
Apple said the revised shape and acoustic architecture of the AirPods 4 also contributes to the earbuds having effective ANC.
The full interview offers additional details about how Apple designed the AirPods 4, which became available in stores today. There are two types of AirPods 4, with only the higher-end $179 ones offering active noise cancellation.
Happy iPhone 16 launch day! Apple's latest iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models are now in the hands of consumers, and we thought we'd do a quick first impressions overview for those of you who are waiting for a delivery or who are still on the fence about upgrading.
This year's iPhone 16 is the biggest upgrade for a standard model that we've seen in some time. Performance is not too far off from the Pro models, the Action Button is no longer Pro exclusive, and Apple brought the fun new Camera Control button to all iPhone 16 models, not just the 16 Pro and Pro Max.
The Action Button is more useful than ever before with iOS 18 because you can assign Control Center actions and even third-party app functionality. It can turn on the flashlight, open the Translate app, toggle on Dark Mode, open your favorite app, and so much more.
Apple has talked up the new Camera Control button, which is meant to be used for taking photos in either landscape or portrait mode. It is a little confusing at first, because it's a button, but it also supports pressure sensitivity touch gestures like swipes. The placement is not super convenient in portrait mode and can be a little awkward to use, and it takes some time to adjust to how the button works.
The button does do a lot, though, and you can press twice to snap a photo, press once and then press and hold to take a video, or use gestures to swap different tools to adjust photo parameters.
If you're holding your camera in landscape orientation, the button placement makes more sense, but a lot of iPhone photography is done in portrait mode rather than landscape mode. Apple moved the camera lenses from a diagonal position to a vertical position, and the iPhone 16 models now support spatial photo and videos for the Vision Pro, but it's not clear how many people are actually using that functionality.
Apple added new Photographic Styles and a handy little adjustment pad for editing the intensity and look of those styles, so it's overall a much more useful feature than before. You can set up a favorite style and then apply it to all of your images for a custom look.
For video, there's an Audio Mix feature that changes the way that audio sounds in your video recordings. You can pull out the voice of the subject of a video while muting the background noise, or direct all sound forward like in a movie.
There are new color options this year, and the teal iPhone that we tested was a bright, vibrant shade of blue. You can also get ultramarine (a dark purple blue), pink, white, and black.
As for the A18 chip, depending on which iPhone you're upgrading from, you might not see any speed improvements because most iPhone apps don't stress the CPU or GPU of modern processors, but the A18 does support Apple Intelligence. All iPhone 16 models get the Apple Intelligence features coming in iOS 18.1 and later updates.
For a smartphone starting at $799, the iPhone 16 is a surprisingly good value this year, and it's a worthwhile upgrade if you're coming from anything older than an iPhone 14. With the iPhone 14 and beyond, it's a less obvious upgrade, but there are still some great features to look forward to.
Apple's new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max models are now being delivered to customers worldwide following the pre-order period that began on Friday, September 13. For those who didn't pre-order the Pro models or chose to wait, many configurations now have estimated delivery dates in October. However, there's good news for customers wanting their devices sooner: Select Apple Store locations globally are offering same-day or next-day pickup options.
As of writing, Apple's online stores in the United States and Canada haven't yet been updated to show pickup availability, but shortages aren't expected and there is unlikely to be much variation state by state. Meanwhile across the pond, all iPhone 16 colors and configurations are available for Apple Store pickup today in countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Apple Stores in Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Türkiye, and the UAE are also offering same-day pickup options.
To order a product with Apple Store pickup, add the product to your bag on Apple.com or in the Apple Store app, proceed to checkout, select the "I'll pick it up" option, enter your ZIP or postal code, choose an available Apple Store location, select a pickup date, and select a 15-minute check-in window. Payment is completed online, and a valid government-issued photo ID and the order number may be required upon pickup.
iPhone 16 models may also be available for walk-in customers at Apple Store locations with sufficient inventory, but availability can't be guaranteed. Walk-in customers may be placed into a separate queue with lower priority upon arrival to the store.
The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are a big update over previous standard models, coming with many features that were once limited to Pro models. New capabilities include a customizable Action button, a new Camera Control button for quick access to camera functions, a 48MP Fusion camera, macro photography, a new A18 chip capable of powering Apple Intelligence (forthcoming), and more.
iPhone 16 Pro models also have several new features, including larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays with thinner bezels, longer battery life, a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, a faster A18 Pro chip, Wi-Fi 7 support, faster 5G, faster charging, and more. Click the tags at the bottom of this article for all the details.
It's Friday, September 20 in Australia and New Zealand, so customers in those countries who pre-ordered an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, Apple Watch Series 10, or AirPods 4 are starting to receive their device deliveries.
Apple fans who ordered a new product are sharing photos and first impressions of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods 4 on Instagram, Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and other social networks. If you've already received one of the new devices, let us know in the comments below and make sure to share pictures and your initial thoughts!
With no retail stores in New Zealand, customers in Australia are the first to be able to pick up new devices or purchase an iPhone in an Apple Store. Available in-store stock in Australia will provide insight into what we can expect in other Apple Stores around the world, but so far, there have been no rumors of shortages.
iPhone 16 Pro orders did sell out during the pre-order period, and online shipping estimates now range into October. If you missed pre-orders, you can likely get one of the new devices at an Apple Store or a nearby location like Target, Walmart, or Best Buy.
Following New Zealand and Australia, sales and deliveries of the new iPhone 15 models and the new Apple Watches will begin in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and finally, North America. Many Apple Stores worldwide will be opening up early at around 8:00 a.m. local time to allow customers to pick up reserved devices and make walk-in purchases.
Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors, as we'll have a hands-on and unboxing tomorrow, followed by deep dives into the feature set of the new devices, camera comparisons, and more.
Jodie Comer on the set of "28 Years Later" with an iPhone 15 Pro Max camera rig (right).
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