Apple has revealed its new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max which offer huge upgrades and interestingly, a slightly lower price than its predecessor. Following the opening of Apple Store TRX, Malaysians can now get their hands on the latest iPhone models at the same time as Singapore.
What’s new with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max?
On the surface, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max may look the same as before with a familiar flat edge design with a titanium frame, matte glass back and the iconic triple-camera area on a protruding bump. Apple has given the Pro flagship smartphone duo larger screens by 0.2″ with 6.3″ for the iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9″ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The 6.3″ model pushes a resolution of 2622×1206 pixels while the 6.9″ Pro Max model does 2868×1320 pixels resolution. Both are still using Super Retina XDR OLED display that boasts a pixel density of 460ppi, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness (1,000 nits typical max brightness) and 120Hz ProMotion display technology. Also retained is the Dynamic Island at the top which houses the front camera and sensors.
Apple says the bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are the thinnest yet but the overall dimensions have also increased due to the larger screen. The overall height and width are longer by a few millimetres but they still retain the same thickness of 8.25mm for both models. The iPhone 16 Pro is heavier too by 12g, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is heavier by 6g, compared to their predecessors.
Under the hood, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max runs on Apple’s new A18 Pro chip which boasts 6-core CPU (2x Performance Cores + 4x Efficiency cores), 6-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine.
Apple Intelligence was one of the main focuses during the event which would harness the power of Apple Silicon. This makes the iPhone 16 Pro lineup, the second iPhone Pro series to get these AI features as it is currently only supported on the A17 Pro-powered iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
In the camera department, there are a couple of notable upgrades. While it retains a 48MP f/1.78 main camera, the ultra-wide unit has been upgraded from a 12MP f/2.2 to a 48MP f/2.2 shooter. It still gets a 12MP f/2.8 telephoto camera capable of offering 5x optical zoom and it is now offered as standard even for the smaller iPhone 16 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro: 3x optical zoom).
According to Apple, the main 48MP Fusion camera is now faster and the quad-pixel sensor can read data 2x faster with zero shutter lag when capturing 48MP ProRAW or HEIF photos. Both devices can now shoot macro in 48MP and they also come with anti-reflective lens coating. The front camera remains unchanged with a 12MP f/1.9 selfie shooter that’s capable of recording 4K videos up to 60fps.
Apple has also introduced a new physical button called Camera Control which doubles as a shutter button and a secondary action button. For shutterbugs, this can be used to lock focus and to take the shot, and you can slide your fingers to change modes and camera settings.
The Camera Control button is also open to third-party apps to enable different functionalities such as white balance and setting focus points for the Kino app. The Camera Control button can also enable visual intelligence, which is an AI-assisted search feature that uses camera.
Another major upgrade is that the iPhone 16 Pro series can now record slow-mo up to 4K 120fps. From the keynote, Apple demonstrated that you can shoot a video on the iPhone 16 Pro and then adjust the playback speed after the capture. ProRes video recording up to 4K at 120fps is also possible with external recording via the USB-C 3 port.
On top of that, the new flagship duo is also capable of Spatial Audio and stereo recording using studio-quality four-mic arrays with wind noise reduction capabilities.
In terms of connectivity, it supports 5G (sub-6Hz in Malaysia), Bluetooth 5.3 and 802.11be WiFi 7 with 2×2 MIMO. The new iPhone 16 Pro series also support Apple’s new MagSafe charger which offers faster wireless charging of up to 25W. However, the faster wireless charging requires a 30W power adapter.
Apple also boasts long battery life for the new A18 Pro-powered flagships. According to the spec sheet, you can playback videos up to 23 hours on the iPhone 16 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro: 23 hours) and up to 33 hours on the iPhone 16 Pro Max (iPhone 15 Pro Max: 29 hours). When plugged into a 20W adapter, you can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes for the Pro and 35 minutes for the Pro Max.
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Malaysia Pricing
Finally, Malaysia is now among the first wave of countries to get the latest iPhone and local buyers can get their hands on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro on the same day as Singapore, Australia, the US and the UK.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro will be available starting this Friday, 13th September 2024 and the devices will be available from 20th September 2024. If you plan to get the latest iPhone from the Apple Store TRX, you can choose the pickup option when you pre-order online to skip the normal queue.
Here’s the official pricing for the iPhone 16 Pro lineup in Malaysia:
iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro 128GB – RM4,999
- iPhone 16 Pro 256GB – RM5,499
- iPhone 16 Pro 512GB – RM6,499
- iPhone 16 Pro 1TB – RM7,499
iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB – RM5,999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB – RM6,999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB – RM7,999
Across the board, the iPhone 16 Pro series is RM500 cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro series at the time of launch in Malaysia. As a reference, the 6.1″ iPhone 15 Pro was priced from RM5,499 while the larger 6.7″ iPhone 15 Pro Max was priced from RM6,499.
The iPhone 16 Pro series is available in four colours – black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium.
Related reading
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus: A18 processor, Camera Control, macro photography, improved battery life
- Apple Watch Series 10: Thinnest Apple Watch with larger displays, new titanium case, and sleep apnea detection
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Malaysia: Here’s the official pricing, pre-order opens 13 Sept
- Apple Watch Series 10 Malaysia: Here’s the official pricing
