Apple's new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, revealed at a September Apple event, might not look hugely different from their predecessors, albeit with a vertical rather than diagonal camera orientation.
But they've had some interesting upgrades and notably the iPhone 16 cameras bring in some key jumps in specs and functionality. So here's what you need to know.
iPhone 16 cameras
| iPhone 16 camera specs | |
|---|---|
| Main camera: | 48MP (26 mm, ƒ/1.6) |
| Ultra-wide camera: | 12MP (13 mm, ƒ/2.2) |
| Telephoto camera: | N/A |
| Front camera: | 12MP (ƒ/1.9) |
While the iPhone 16 may appear to have the same main camera as the iPhone 15, it's actually been upgraded and is now a "Fusion camera". As such, it can offer two shooting modes in one with the ability to crop in for a form of 2x optical zoom, and it has has a speedier quad-pixel sensor that can record 4K video at 120 frames per second.
We have a full breakdown of what the iPhone 16 Fusion camera means, and how it can use the vertical orientation of the main and ultra-wide cameras to better stitch together images from the two sensors.
The ultra-wide camera also has an upgrade in the form of being able to capture macro shots, much like the same camera on the previous-generation Pro iPhones.
However, one of the biggest upgrades looks set to be the Camera Control button. This extra button uses haptics and a high-precision force sensor to recognize different taps and swipes to allow a user to switch between camera modes and styles without needing to tap at the iPhone 16's dispaly. This effectively gives more control over the rear cameras.
And when Apple Intelligence rolls out, the Camera Control should also have access to 'visual intelligence' features that can look up things the cameras are pointed at, such as pull up the hours or ratings for a restaurant or quickly identify a dog by breed.
For a quick look at the camera capabilities, take a look at the samples below, which were taken as part of our iPhone 16 review.
iPhone 16 camera samples
iPhone 16 Plus cameras
| iPhone 16 camera specs | |
|---|---|
| Main camera: | 48MP (26 mm, ƒ/1.6) |
| Ultra-wide camera: | 12MP (13 mm, ƒ/2.2) |
| Telephoto camera: | N/A |
| Front camera: | 12MP (ƒ/1.9) |
The iPhone 16 Plus cameras are the same as those on the iPhone 16. The only advantage is a larger display could help people better frame the shot they want.
Do check out the camera samples below taken from our iPhone 16 Plus review.
