At 8 pm on September 13, the iPhone 16 series will officially start pre-sale. This year, the iPhone 16 series still has four models, namely the digital series and the Pro series. Apple also provides users with a wealth of choices in different price ranges.
This year’s iPhone 16 series has many updates in details, from new colors to future support for Apple smartphones, which may also drive some users to upgrade. Therefore, we have compiled a buying guide based on the key information released at the press conference to help you choose the product that suits you.
A more complete digital series experience
Compared with previous years, this year’s iPhone 16 series does not have a particularly large gap in experience with the Pro version, so the digital series is also a product worth choosing this year.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 series is available in black, white, pink, dark cyan, ultramarine and other colors. This year’s color saturation is generally high and looks more gorgeous. If you want to buy a “safe” color, black and white are both good choices. If you want to choose a bright color to match your outfit, you need to choose other colors according to the actual situation.
The iPhone 16 also has operation buttons and a camera shooting button
From the perspective of experience, this year’s digital series is not much different from the Pro series. From the operation button on the left to the photo button on the right, the iPhone 16 series is standard; the new A18 chip can also support Apple intelligence in the future and meet the user experience in the AI era.
The only difference from the Pro is still the old-fashioned “screen” and “imaging system”. In fact, starting from last year’s iPhone 15 series, the digital series of iPhones have achieved optical quality 2X zoom through a 48-megapixel lens, so for daily shooting, the digital series of iPhones can already meet the needs. In addition, this year’s iPhone 16 also uses a vertical arrangement of the two lenses, so it can also directly shoot space photos and space videos.
As for the 60Hz refresh rate screen, it has always been the most obvious difference between the digital series and the Pro series. Apple calls the high refresh rate screen “ProMotion adaptive refresh rate screen”, which shows that high refresh rate will be exclusive to the Pro series for a long time.
In terms of capacity, a large number of photos, videos and WeChat chat records now take up a lot of space. Therefore, when buying an iPhone, we recommend choosing a version starting at 256GB. Of course, 512GB is definitely safer, but considering the high storage price of the iPhone, choosing the 256GB version and adding iCloud may be a more appropriate choice.
In addition, this year’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus only differ in screen size and battery capacity. If you don’t have high requirements for battery life and large screen, then the standard version of iPhone 16 is the most suitable product for you.
Pro series fully expanded
Unlike last year, this year’s iPhone 16 Pro series has no difference between the two phones except for screen size and battery capacity. Compared with the digital series, the upgrades of the Pro series are mainly concentrated in the imaging system, screen and A18 Pro chip.
iPhone 16 Pro Series
The iPhone 16 Pro series uses a rear triple-camera, with both the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses using 48-megapixel sensors, and the telephoto lenses all have 5X telephoto, so the experience of the two phones is highly consistent. In terms of video recording, the iPhone 16 Pro supports shooting 4K 120FPS videos for the first time. Its four-microphone design can also reduce wind noise and provide mixing functions. Therefore, in terms of video recording, the iPhone 16 Pro is still the first echelon of current smartphones.
In terms of weight, the iPhone 16 Pro weighs 199g and the iPhone 16 Pro Max weighs 227g. The weight of both phones has increased slightly compared to the previous generation. The weight will be further increased when used with a protective case.
From this point of view, if you have higher requirements for a large screen and battery life, you can choose Pro Max, otherwise the Pro experience is enough to meet all current needs.
Is it worth switching for Apple users?
If you are still using iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, I don’t think it is necessary to upgrade. Compared with last year’s Pro series, this year’s Pro series does not have many disruptive updates. The most obvious one is the addition of a camera button. It is not cost-effective to upgrade just for this update.
Of course, even if you are planning to update the iPhone 16 series, I suggest you wait a little longer. At present, the most important update of the iPhone 16 series, “Apple Smart”, has not yet been launched. The current hardware update is not particularly large compared to before. Therefore, if you are planning to replace it, the two time nodes of “Double Eleven” and “Apple Smart Launch” are actually better choices.
If you want to replace your phone as soon as possible, different e-commerce platforms will also launch new phones as soon as possible this year, and offer different levels of discounts. The Apple Store official website offers 24 interest-free installments on multiple platforms, as well as a maximum return and exchange period of 14 days. Tmall/JD.com and other platforms also offer different levels of interest-free installments, and JD.com also offers an additional “+99 yuan for one-year AppleCare+” service, which only costs 99 yuan to enjoy one year of high-quality after-sales service, avoiding the high cost of repairs after the screen/back panel is broken.
Can overseas versions of iPhone use Apple smartphones?
Apple Smart is a major update to the iPhone 16 series this year, and Apple’s official website also gives a fairly clear description of its support:
Apple Smartphone is not currently available for iPhone models purchased in mainland China.
For iPhone models purchased outside of mainland China that support Apple smartphones, if you are located in mainland China and your Apple ID country/region is also set in mainland China, you are currently unable to use Apple smartphones.
When Apple Smart is launched in mainland China, previously purchased iPhone models that support Apple Smart will be able to activate and use this feature in the region.
Simply translated, even if you buy an overseas version of the iPhone, you have to wait until Apple smartphones are officially launched before you can use it in China.
However, Apple did not mention the situation of “Apple ID in other regions + overseas version of iPhone” on the page. We will also test whether this situation can experience Apple intelligence in advance.
Final Thoughts
Judging from this year’s upgrades, the digital series has received a larger upgrade. The control buttons of the previous Pro series and this year’s newly added photo-taking buttons can all be seen on the iPhone 16. Therefore, for users who are preparing to replace their previous models, the iPhone 16 is sufficient to meet current needs.
The Pro series is aimed at more professional users. Whether it is the stronger lens quality or the high-refresh screen, they are all exclusive to the Pro series. This year’s Pro series is also the strongest level of the current Apple ecosystem.
However, we still need to take into account the “Apple intelligence” that has not yet been launched. If you want to experience the complete iPhone 16 series, you may have to wait for a while. Therefore, users who are ready to step into the AI ecosystem may have to wait for a while.
Finally, I wish everyone can choose a new iPhone that suits them.
