iPhone 16 First Look: While We Wait for Apple Intelligence, Check Out These Buttons

That’s happening, too. Just not yet.

Despite the fact that the new iPhone 16 models are all engineered with new fast processors and chips to run Apple Intelligence, the features won’t be arriving when the iPhones land on Sept. 20. In fact, some won’t roll out until next year.Apple spent a lot of its event Monday talking about those tools but also touting some that should appeal to those who couldn’t care less about AI, including better battery life and camera tricks. And all for the same prices as last year’s models. But the reality is that for the first time in a long time, the new software on these phones matters more than the new hardware.

Before you hit the Snooze button, stay with me: I got to try out the four new phones and some of those coming AI tricks. Let’s break down the three biggest features I’m excited about that are coming to all four of the new devices. 

Apple Intelligence

The new phones—the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max—are equipped with new A18 processors that allow them to run Apple’s AI tools. The only older iPhones that can run the software are last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. My colleague Shara Tibken explains all the differences between models here. 

Luckily, the demo units at Apple’s event were running iOS 18.1, coming next month with the first wave of new generative-AI features. Yes, it’s complicated.

In the Notes app, I was able to summarize a long document into a paragraph. I also wrote my mom a quick letter and used the writing tools to help make the notes more “Professional.” I typed:

I’ll be home tomorrow. Do you think you want an iPhone 16?

The AI converted it to: 

I anticipate returning home tomorrow. Would you be interested in receiving an iPhone 16?

That’s definitely how I talk to my mom.  

The feature with the most everyday potential—the Photos app’s coming Clean Up tool—was also the one whose demo was the most problematic. It’s supposed to work like Google’s Magic Eraser. You select people or objects in the shot, then scribble over them to remove them. I was able to remove a woman standing next to me fairly successfully. Same with a microphone pack on my white pants, though it left a stain. Anyone have a Tide pen?  

An Apple product rep told me if I scribbled on someone’s face, it would pixelate and blur it, but in a few instances, the faces just became deformed. While I was trying it out, the app crashed.

It was a great example of why Apple isn’t shipping this yet, and is labeling all the AI tools as “beta.” Other companies—ahem, Google—have released AI photo generating and editing tools that weren’t quite ready.

Let’s go back to what really matters…BUTTONS. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus get the Action Button, a shortcut trick that was introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro models. I am a big fan. When the train conductor comes through, I quickly tap it to show my ticket.

But the latest in button innovation is the Camera Control. Press it once to launch the camera app. Press again and it snaps a photo. I can see that being very useful, especially when I need to quickly grab a shot of my 3-year-old.

It gets cooler—and more complicated—from there. You lightly double press to get different camera modes: zoom, portrait, etc. Swipe on the button to adjust controls. It took some getting used to, but it really does seem like a cumbersome way to get to some features that are just a tap away on the screen. 

Sometime this year, after—you guessed it—a software update, you’ll be able to long-press on that button to launch Visual Intelligence. That lets you use the camera to snap photos of the world, say, a restaurant, and then use AI to search for info about it. It’s sort of a super-evolved version of the info button currently in the Photos app.

Funny how some of the most exciting features of the recent iPhones are more traditional features—buttons and ports. Remember, these phones all have the USB-C port introduced on the models last year.

Battery life

Yet even with all those fancy tricks, what’s the thing that might change our lives most? Improved battery life. 

With bigger batteries and the efficient new A18 chips, the new phones are meant to run longer—to varying degrees. Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro models can play videos four hours longer than the 15 Pros. The differences are tighter between the regular iPhone 16 models and their predecessors, but they’re still improved.

These iPhone 16 models are a mix of the usual polish and a lot of potential. If you’ve been holding out to upgrade your two- or three-year-old iPhone, this looks to be a solid move. The battery life alone will likely make a difference in your life. 

As for if the AI features are going to change everything, well, I can’t really tell you how good it is until all of Apple’s AI magic is…buttoned up. 

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Write to Joanna Stern at joanna.stern@wsj.com