Certain as clockwork, yearly brings a brand new crop of iPhones, and 2024 was no exception. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional arrived in September, however if you happen to’re simply upgrading to a brand new mannequin for the vacations, chances are you’ll end up questioning precisely what’s new in these newest technological marvels — particularly if that is your first iPhone in a number of years.
The excellent news is that each the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional (and their Plus and Professional Max counterparts) are extraordinarily succesful telephones — the most effective iPhones Apple has ever provided, in actual fact. And never solely do they share the most recent enhancements, akin to the brand new Digicam Management button,additionally they assist the very latest Apple Intelligence options that allow you to do all the pieces from create customized emoji to compose textual content.
So once you fireplace up that new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Professional, listed below are ten issues you need to try straight away.
Digicam Management
The most important new {hardware} function of the iPhone 16 collection is Digicam Management, a button on the decrease proper facet of the telephone that allows you to — as you would possibly guess from the title — management varied features of the digicam. By default, you possibly can click on it to open the digicam, then click on it once more to take an image, identical to a basic shutter button.
However that simply scratches the floor of what Digicam Management can do. For instance, as soon as you have opened the Digicam app, you possibly can click on and maintain the button to start out a video recording. There’s extra: utilizing a double “light-press” — a barely odd gesture the place you press down on the button with out really clicking it — you possibly can deliver up a menu of various choices, together with selecting the zoom stage, switching the digicam lens, and even altering photographic kinds, amongst others. You may select which management to make use of by swiping your finger left and proper alongside the Digicam Management button — sure, it is contact delicate! — then choosing it by light-pressing as soon as once more. As soon as you have chosen a setting, you possibly can alter the values by light-pressing a single time and swiping left or proper.
If you would like to regulate among the options of Digicam Management, you possibly can go to Settings > Digicam > Digicam Management. There you may discover the flexibility to make use of the light-press function to lock focus and publicity, select whether or not to launch the digicam with a single- or double-click, and even select a third-party app to launch as a substitute of the default Digicam. You may as well change the sensitivity of these varied clicks and light-presses in Settings > Accessibility > Digicam Management if you happen to discover that extra handy.
Visible Intelligence
Digicam Management’s not only for taking photos, although. With iOS 18.2 or later, you possibly can make the most of the brand new Visible Intelligence function that allows you to use your iPhone’s digicam to get extra details about your environment.
Press and maintain the Digicam Management button till the Visible Intelligence interface seems: it reveals a fullscreen view of what your digicam is seeing, plus three buttons. You may rapidly snap an image with the shutter button to get contextual details about no matter you are seeing, together with translation, summarization, or having particulars learn aloud, when applicable. You may as well simply level your digicam at one thing and faucet the Search button to get search outcomes from Google for no matter you are taking a look at, or faucet Ask to ask ChatGPT questions on what you are seeing.
Motion Button
Whereas it is nice that the iPhone now has a devoted button for the digicam, you possibly can deliver a few of that utility to different capabilities of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional by way of a customizable management known as the Motion button. You may discover the Motion button on the left facet of the telephone, above the Quantity Up management. This button might be assigned to do just about no matter you need, from turning on the flashlight to operating a shortcut you create your self.
Simply go to Settings > Motion Button and you’ll swipe by varied choices, together with switching between Ring and Silent mode, setting a selected Focus mode, opening the Digicam app to a selected mode, turning on the flashlight, taking a voice memo, utilizing Shazam to acknowledge music, activating the Translate function, utilizing the magnifier operate, toggling a selected Management Heart management, operating a shortcut created with the Shortcuts app, and even an Accessibility function. The button is your oyster!
iPhone 16 Professional 5x zoom
With yearly’s new iPhones, there’s some distinction between the usual and Professional strains, however this yr, they’re fairly shut. One of many main options unique to the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 16 Professional Max is a 3rd digicam lens: the spectacular 5x telephoto that was beforehand solely obtainable within the iPhone 15 Professional Max. In the event you’ve ever needed to take an image of one thing distant — a chicken in a tree, possibly, or a baseball participant method out on the sector — you have bought simply the suitable software for the job.
To make use of the 5x lens, open the Digicam app in your Professional mannequin and faucet on the 5 icon within the floating menu above the shutter button. You may as well pinch-to-zoom on the preview picture to zoom in additional regularly, however that may embrace each the bodily lenses in addition to the decrease high quality digital zoom (principally anytime you do not see .5x, 1x, 2x, or 5x, you are utilizing digital zoom). Then go forward and snap these distant pics to your coronary heart’s content material.
Photographic Kinds
Typically the picture your iPhone digicam grabs is not fairly what you had in your head. Perhaps the colours are just a little bit off or the pores and skin tones aren’t fairly proper. The newest era of Photographic Kinds on the iPhone 16 mean you can tweak your telephone’s digicam to be your digicam, with photographs that look the best way you need.
To arrange your default type, go to Settings > Digicam > Photographic Kinds. You may be requested to select 4 of your favourite photographs that you’ve got shot with the iPhone. You may then swipe by how they’d look with a wide range of completely different undertone settings from gold to impartial.
As soon as you have picked the tone setting you like, you’ll refine it on Apple’s tone & coloration selector. That might be set because the default, however you possibly can nonetheless alter it on an image-by-image foundation in Images, and even as you are capturing within the Digicam app. Better of all, the adjustments are nondestructive, that means that you could all the time return and alter them later with none worry of being caught with a mode eternally.
iPhone 16 Professional Audio Combine
The spectacular processing energy of the A18 silicon powering the brand new iPhones allows some actually cool talents. Take the Audio Combine function: it enables you to alter the traits of the audio in movies that you simply shoot, boosting sure ranges and decreasing background noise and even offering a spatial combine with a encompass sound expertise.
To make use of this function, you may have to be sure to’ve enabled Spatial Audio in Settings > Digicam > Report Sound. Then, once you’re viewing a video within the Images app, faucet the three sliders button within the toolbar and choose Audio Combine. You may select from the usual sound, in-frame (which lowers quantity from topics not within the video), studio to ape the sound of knowledgeable recording studio, and cinematic (the voices go within the middle channel, with environmental sounds throughout you). There’s additionally a slider so you possibly can dial in how robust the impact is.
Genmoji
In the event you’ve ever been trying to find the right emoji solely to seek out it does not exist, excellent news: Apple Intelligence’s Genmoji function places the ability in your arms. Want a duck detective or a canine with a purple cape? Genmoji may help. Utilizing your text-based immediate, it may generate an emoji-style picture that you should utilize just about anyplace.
As a way to use the function, be sure to’ve enabled Apple Intelligence in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri. (If that is the primary time you have turned it on, chances are you’ll want to attend till your machine will get absolutely enrolled, however you may get a notification when you’re set.) To create your personal Genmoji, simply faucet the Emoji keyboard button adopted by the emoji with a plus icon within the prime proper. Within the textual content field, describe your excellent emoji — Genmoji will generate them on the fly, and you’ll flip by a wide range of choices to seek out the one you need. (You may seemingly have to, as a few of them are topic to the oddness of AI-generated imagery.) If you wish to sample an emoji after a selected particular person as a substitute of the generic emoji type, faucet the Individual button beneath the picture and choose considered one of folks out of your Images library.
ChatGPT and Writing Instruments
Apple Intelligence brings a number of instruments to the desk, nevertheless it’s bought some backup within the type of ChatGPT integration for areas the place Apple’s personal AI comes up quick. ChatGPT is constructed into a number of completely different locations within the newest model of iOS, and if you happen to’re utilizing an iPhone 16, you possibly can take full benefit of this partnership.
With Apple’s enhancements to Writing Instruments, you possibly can unleash ChatGPT within the Notes app, in your e-mail, or principally anyplace else you enter textual content. Like the complete ChatGPT, this integration can deal with all the pieces from making your notes a bit peppier to producing a complete programming script.
As a way to make the most of all this energy, you may have to allow ChatGPT integration, which you are able to do in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT. You’ve got bought the choice to log in to your personal ChatGPT account, and even improve to the paid ChatGPT Plus proper from right here.
As soon as it is all arrange, simply faucet anyplace you enter textual content to deliver up the popover menu, choose Writing Instruments, and scroll down to decide on Compose. You may have the function pull from all of the textual content in a doc or only a choice, and even simply have it create one thing model new.
Messages by way of satellite tv for pc
These of us sufficiently old to recollect being unreachable by telephone might lengthy for an easier time, nevertheless it’s exhausting to disclaim the utility of sending a textual content message from wherever. And I do imply wherever, as iOS 18 extends the satellite tv for pc performance first launched with the iPhone 14 from one thing obtainable for emergencies to one thing you should utilize on the drop of a hat.
While you’re exterior of mobile and Wi-Fi vary, you may see a satellite tv for pc icon seem in your iPhone’s menu bar, and the textual content entry area in Messages will observe that it is utilizing Satellite tv for pc connectivity. Simply observe the onscreen instructions to amass a satellite tv for pc sign, and you’ll ship iMessages and SMS textual content messages, together with emoji and tapbacks. You may’t ship bigger objects like photographs, movies, and even group messages, so I assume you possibly can nonetheless unplug a bit.
Multi-track Voice Memos
An previous adage argues that the most effective digicam is the one you’ve with you. The identical could possibly be mentioned of recording gadgets. Burgeoning musicians usually wish to get down concepts as quickly as they pop into their head, and iOS’s Voice Memos is a useful software for that. However iPhone 16 Professional customers can make the most of an extra function: layered recordings that allow you to put a second observe on prime of your first.
Simply launch the Voice Memos app and make a recording. While you wish to add a second layer, faucet the memo you need after which choose the waveform button on the decrease proper. You may see the numbers 1 and a couple of seem beneath the audio waveform — be sure to’re on the second layer. (The quantity 2 may also be proven contained in the recording button.) Hit report so as to add a second layer to your observe.
While you’re achieved, you possibly can combine the layers collectively in Voice Memos’s enhancing interface, or break up them into separate tracks. It is like having a mini recording studio in your pocket.