The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have been officially introduced via Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event in Cupertino, California on Monday. These base models feature the new A18 chip and Apple Intelligence features, but an even more interesting new addition is the Camera Control button.

Located on the lower right bezel when on a portrait orientation, this add-on lets users access the Camera app with just a click, making it easier for them to take quick snaps and videos.

Apple positioned the Camera Control button in a way where it replicates the shutter button on traditional film cameras especially when holding the iPhone 16 in landscape mode.

This way, users do not need to adjust the grip anymore after launching the Camera app. And for filming, they simply have to click and hold the Camera Control button to start recording right away.

Moreover, the iPhone 16 Camera Control button is designed to understand haptic feedback, differentiating full presses from light touches.

When the Camera app has already been opened, users may simply light press the button to frame the shot. Another light tap will show various settings like depth of field, exposure, and more.

They may then slide their fingers on the button to adjust these settings. The same gesture helps them to zoom in and out easily. These same features can be utilized when filming. Furthermore, when on portrait orientation, Snapchat may be accessed directly from the control for quick sharing.

iPhone 16 cameras

Speaking of cameras, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus feature a 48MP main camera and a 12MP telephoto camera.

The main camera absorbs light 2.6x better than its predecessor. Users may take macro, ultra-wide angle, normal, and 2x zoom shots without compromising quality, all thanks to the 48MP Fusion camera.

The new flagships also leverage powerful machine learning algorithms for better audio pickup on video recording and video calls.

First iPhones built for Apple Intelligence

And as the iPhone 16 series is the first generation of iPhones specifically built for Apple Intelligence, users can take advantage of a handful of AI-powered features, like Clean Up to remove unwanted parts on photos.

The A18 chip on the devices also allow them to support the Apple Intelligence features easily. With a 6-core CPU, including two performance cores and four efficiency cores, the A18 chip delivers a 60% faster performance than an iPhone 12. Yet it uses 30% less power than an A16 Bionic chip, making the iPhone 16 Series even more power efficient.

One of the Apple Intelligence-powered features is Writing Tools. This can be used to help with proofreading texts or changing its tone with just a few taps. There’s also Genmoji, which lets users be creative with generating emojis with just text prompts.

Siri has likewise been supercharged so that simple voice prompts lead to browsing through apps to pull up vital information.

iPhone 16 series price, availability

The iPhone 16 is priced starting at US$ 799 for the 128GB model. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Plus retails starting at US$ 899 for the 128GB option.

Both come in the new Ultramarine, Teal, and Pink, colorways, joining the classic White and Black options.