In Australia, the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB will cost $1,799. The base model iPhone 16 128GB will cost $1,399.
On average, most of these models will see a price drop of up to $100 compared with last year’s iPhone 15 lineup..
It’s not much, but it’s a meaningful step Apple has been working up to for years.
For the past few generations, Apple has clearly been trying to find ways to add value and make the iPhone much more accessible to a greater number of people. Commercialism comes into play, of course, but the company could have just as easily raised prices significantly. They know people will still throw themselves at the latest iPhone.
That said, Apple seems to be doing something unexpected this generation. The company has made the gap between the base model iPhone 16 and the top-tier iPhone 16 Pro Max smaller than ever before.
Apple’s cadence is familiar to all by now. You’ve got two base models and two Pro models. In an attempt to provide value for people upgrading, the base models typically get a trickle-down of all the new features from last year’s Pro models. While the current Pro models represent Apple’s latest R&D. And so forth, and so forth.
Yet, as curtains closed for Glowtime, Apple’s announcement event, I felt like the iPhone 16 proper started looking like the most valuable model of the four. Usually, it was the iPhone 16 Pro for me. I even pre-emptively penned a piece on why I’m more exciting about the iPhone 16 Pro than any prior generation.
But now I’m just as excited for the iPhone 16. The Pro bumps up a lot of features, and Apple’s new focus on AI (dubbed “Apple Intelligence”) is impressive, but the 16 proper has everything the large majority of users need.
From what I can see, on paper, these are the advantages of the Pro over the base models:
- A18 Pro chipset with a 6-core GPU (base models have a 5-core GPU)
- 12MP telephoto lens on the Pro. No telephoto lens for the base models.
- An ultra-wide 48MP primary for the Pro. Only a 12MP primary for the 16.
- Pro can shoot in several professional videography formats including 4K Dolby Vision, and ProRes at 120 FPS.
- Pro has “four studio-quality mids” for better audio editing.
- Pro has a dual-frequency GPS. Base models have a single GPS. Extra bands allow for more accurate positioning.
- Pro supports USB-C 3 with up to 10GB/s data transfer. Base models have USB-C 2 which are only capable of 480MB/s.
Surprisingly, the base models are getting Apple’s fancy new Camera Control button, as well as the Action Button from last year’s Pro models. If Apple was sticking to the cadence it has established for the previous few generations, then the base models wouldn’t have a Camera Control button.
Apple is clearly thinking about value here.
That said, I’ll still end up choosing the Pro over the base model, simply because of the massive boosts in processing power and speed.
But also, that variable refresh rate has a lot to do with it. I’ve been spoiled by 120Hz for the past few generations so going back to 60Hz would be too much of a difference for me. It’s still absolutely fine, but the seamlessness of the Pro display is too good to pass up.
There are some other differences too. You’ll obviously be getting better battery life with the Pro models (if power efficiency has been worked in properly) and there’s also an increase in size.
Apple Intelligence is an interesting one. Google has been doubling down on AI capabilities with the Pixel phones for the past two generations now, so it’s not surprising to see Apple go forth with their own super smarts. Although Apple’s AI features mostly include efficiency hacks like summarising text, proofreading work, and reading text aloud in a tone of your choice.
It’s necessary in an age where attention spans are shrinking. Our most modern social media platform, TikTok, is kind of built with people’s confected ADHD in mind and publishers the world over are starting to think of ways they can grab users in the first 3 seconds. People are fickle, time is short, and we’re all distracted. And that’s why Apple Intelligence will be so well-received (if it does what it says on paper). The ability to summarise and get information quicker than you usually would is not only helpful, it’s essential in this day and age.
That said, Apple Intelligence won’t be available on the iPhone 16 models at launch. You’ll have to wait until October (this year) for AI to be rolled out as a beta version with an iOS 18 update. I imagine there’ll be plenty of tweaks after that.
All four iPhone 16 models (iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max) will launch in Australia on Friday, 20th September. Pre-orders are now open and there are five new colours to choose from: black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine.
You can now pre order at the official Apple website
