iPhone 16 review: Camera Control is a nice touch, but we are really waiting for Apple Intelligence

The new devices are quick and, without a doubt, Apple's most powerful and most flexible

Say all you want about Apple's perceived lack of flair at It's Glowtime, but the tech giant did add a nice touch – pun intended – to its latest flagship devices.

The iPhone 16 line-up is set to usher in a new era for the world's most valuable company by market cap, as it taps into generative artificial intelligence to enhance productivity and creativity within its ecosystem.

The National takes an initial dive into two of the devices from the line-up – the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max – the top bets in their respective price tiers. We were able to play around with them for a couple of days and here are our initial impressions.

Hardware revival

Remember when Apple caused a ruckus by deciding to remove key hardware elements on its devices? It seems the company now thinks adding more physical properties is cool again.

The Action Button is back, first introduced exclusively on the iPhone 15 Pro models. This time, it is available across the board on the iPhone 16 line-up. One click with this and you will be able to activate a specific action, depending on what you choose – or do nothing at all.

But the most intriguing addition is Camera Control, a depressed button just below the power button on the right side. And as the name implies, you do have an idea what it does.

A normal press launches the camera, ditto for taking a shot. Simple enough, right? But the real trick lies when you go easy on it, so to speak.

A light double press reveals an overlay that gives you access to camera controls and settings – hence the name – and sliding your finger over the button lets you choose which function, such as zoom and depth, to use.

Sure, these are controls you would normally see on a camera app's interface – we say “a” because Camera Control will also work on third-party apps, not just the iPhone's – but Apple seems to be aiming for a more natural feel of how you would hold a regular camera, with Camera Control acting as the shutter button.

Another key action it provides is that you will now be able to take selfies using the main camera with an easy press on Camera Control. The drawback here is that you will not be able to see what you are taking, so if you are looking for the right angle – and for those who are camera conscious – it might take a few shots.

Camera Control has a learning curve; it eliminates the need to swipe through the screen to adjust controls, and we're pretty sure it will be easy for you to get the hang of it.

Which also begs the question: what about their protective cases? Well, Apple has developed a new generation of those that work seamlessly with Camera Control. It is impressive how the cases are able to accurately sense your finger movements, if we are being honest.

Camera Control's positioning is also hit or miss; normally you would use your index finger, but may end up using the middle one, particularly on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which, at 6.9 inches, is Apple's biggest smartphone by far.

Going bigger

Which brings us to our next point: the iPhone 16 Pro Max is heavier on the scales again, after significantly dropping in weight last year: it is up at 227g, from the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 221g, but still lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max's 240g. It is also a tad thicker and wider.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro's display has also been bumped up to 6.3 inches, from the 6.1-inch display that has been used for four years since the iPhone 12 Pro. We see this as a good move to further distinguish the base Pro model from the base non-Pro model, which have been at par since the iPhone 11.

The bigger display has also resulted in even thinner bezels, with some estimates pegging it at 1.15mm; while it may not sound like much given how minuscule it is, that is actually nearly a quarter smaller than its predecessor's 1.5mm. The result is a big display that truly lives up to its Max moniker. The iPhone 16 Plus, meanwhile, remains at 6.7 inches.

Battery

So far, the iPhone 16 Pro Max holds up well when it comes to battery life; the latest Pro and Pro Max models promise up to 27 hours and 33 hours of juice, respectively, up from the 23 and 29 hours of its predecessors.

In our one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness test, it used 6 per cent – the third Pro Max in a row we have come up with the same results. Battery lasts well into a second day.

Charging, on the other hand, showed the device going up to 55 per cent in half an hour – better than the promised 50 per cent but below the 60 per cent got last year – with a 30W power brick and the power noodle out of the box.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, on the other hand, now have up to 22 hours and 27 hours of battery, respectively, compared to last year's versions that had 20 hours and 26 hours. The 16 Plus was not far behind in our YouTube test at 7 per cent, and it also lasted at par with the 16 Pro Max.

It did, however, outperform the 16 Pro Max in the charging department, shooting up to 58 per cent in 30 minutes, using the same charging gear.

Where is Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence, highlighted at the Worldwide Developers Conference and It's Glowtime in a big way, is, unfortunately, still currently unavailable, and will only be rolled out in, as Apple promised, the iOS 18.1 update coming in October.

Until then, we will have to wait. But a closer look at it shows a really promising proposition for Apple's ecosystem and its loyal fan base dependent on it.

But, to re-emphasise, Apple Intelligence will help users with productivity, activity and creativity, using machine learning built into the devices.

The iOS 18.1 update is expected to include Writing Tools (summarising, proofreading content), Clean Up, Memory movie creation and natural language search in Photos, notification summaries, Reduce Interruptions Focus (which prioritises notifications), message priorities in Mail, Smart Reply and Summaries in Mail and Messages, and an overhaul of Siri that makes it more accurate.

The update will come out in October, and more Apple Intelligence features will be rolled out in 2025, though Apple has not given any specific time frame.

Initial verdict

The new iPhone 16 devices are quick and, without a doubt, Apple's most powerful and most flexible, considering the combination of additional hardware and what we expect to be a powerful generative AI platform.

We will never know if Apple had really planned to make Apple Intelligence unavailable from the get-go. But intended or not, they were still able to give us something to gleam over with Camera Control; take that out of the equation and you can make the argument that the iPhone 16 is, pound-for-pound, a token upgrade.

But look deeper and Apple did make moves to give more bang for your buck – remember, it kept prices steady again for the fourth year in a row – with bigger screen sizes for the Pros, the latest processors across the board (though the Pro models have the higher A18 Pro chips).

We will revisit this once we have fully tested out its performance, battery and camera. And, of course, we will surely be there when Apple Intelligence finally makes its debut.