Should You Upgrade to iPhone 16, and Best Credit Cards to Use

The iPhone 16 was announced on 9 September (10 September, Singapore), much to the delight of fans everywhere. iPhone launches are always accompanied by lots of buzz, even though the hype isn’t always deserved (remember when Siri was announced way back then?) The question is, will the iPhone 16 come with any groundbreaking innovations this time?

It’s… complicated. How excited you should be for Apple’s newest iPhone would depend on how much you believe in the impact of generative AI. Let’s take a deeper look at the new iPhone to see what it has to offer. 

iPhone 16 cheat sheet: key features

	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16
Launch price	From S$1,899	From S$1,599	From S$1,399	From S$1,299
Screen size	6.9 inch	6.3 inch	6.7 inch	6.1 inch
Colours	Black, silver, white, rose gold		Ultramarine, teal, pink, white, black
Storage	128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB		128GB, 256GB or 512GB
Finish	Titanium with textured matte glass back		Aluminium with colour-infused glass back
Biometrics	FaceID		FaceID
Tech specs	Super Retina ProMotion OLED display A18 Pro chip (6 cores) Dual-camera system: 48 MP fusion, 48 MP ultrawide, Telephoto 10x optical zoom Up to 33 hours video playback  USB-C (supports USB 3)		Super Retina OLED display A18 chip (5 cores) Dual-camera system: 48 MP fusion, 12 MP ultrawide 6x optical zoom Up to 27 hours video playback  USB-C (supports USB 2)

iPhone 16 overview: what’s new?

The most significant improvement in the new iPhone 16 is the A18 chip, a new generation processing chip that is geared towards powering generative AI capabilities in iOS 18. There is also higher RAM of 8GB (6GB previously) for enhanced computing capacity.

Apple’s push towards generative AI is known as Apple Intelligence, and promises to “understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks,” according to the company’s official press release. 

In other words, look forward to new ways of using your iPhone for everyday tasks from writing emails to enhancing photos and videos, to horrifying your contacts with more dead-eyed self-emojis. 

To be sure, it’s all very conceptual, and it remains to be seen how well iPhone users will take to using these new capabilities. Heck, maybe Siri will finally be useful?

Apart from Apple Intelligence, iPhone 16 doesn’t really offer anything much to get dizzy over. The model sticks with the same form factor of between 6.1 inch to 6.7 inch, as well as storage capacity, ranging from 128GB to 1TB. 

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: upgraded camera, more battery life 

Being the high-end models in series, the iPhone 16 Pro (6.3 inch) and iPhone Pro Max (6.9 inch) receive the A18 Pro chip with 6 cores, which is Apple’s most advanced and powerful chip to date. Both also feature an OLED ProMotion display, for higher visual fidelity and screen smoothness. 

Camera capabilities have also been enhanced with the dual-camera system now offering 48 MP fusion, 48 MP ultrawide and telephoto modes, with up to 10x optical zoom. Battery life tops out at 33 hours of video playback, according to Apple. 

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max comes clad in titanium for a premium feeling, but disappointingly, doesn’t offer any new colours. Besides the mainstays dark grey, silver and white, there’s also a rose gold variant.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus: smaller, but just as capable

Traditionally, Apple distinguishes its Pro iPhone models from its regular iPhone series, but the gap narrows with the latest release. 

Just like its Pro siblings, the iPhone 16 (6.1 inch) and iPhone 16 Plus (6.7 inch) also come with Apple’s latest A18 chip, albeit it’s a slightly less powerful version with 5 cores. Still, this is laudable, considering that Apple could have reused the older A17 chip (seen in the iPhone 15 Pro), which was the company’s first chip designed for generative AI. 

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus offer upgraded dual-camera capabilities featuring 48 MP fusion and 12 MP ultrawide photos modes, with up to 6x optical zoom. Notably, this is almost on-par with last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, with telephoto mode being the missing feature.

Besides its smaller form factor, the iPhone 16 holds its own in terms of battery life. Apple’s spec sheet indicates up to 22 hours of video playback, and up to 27 hours for the iPhone 16 Plus.

As for finishes, the iPhone 16 is clad in aluminium with coloured-glass backing. Choose from five colours of back, white, pink, teal and ultramarine. 

Should you upgrade to iPhone 16?

Frankly, the most compelling reason to upgrade to the latest iPhone is the new A18 chip, but that’s only if you really care about generative AI’s purported potential to help you do everyday tasks more efficiently. 

Even so, you may still not have to upgrade if you’re currently holding the iPhone 15 Pro, which has the A17 chip that is also AI-ready. Also, Apple Intelligence will be included in iOS 18, which will be made available to a range of older iPhone models as well, further making it less urgent to upgrade to the iPhone 16. 

But then again, if you’ve missed more than a few iPhone upgrade cycles, the promise of new capabilities and ways of accomplishing tasks heralded by the iPhone 16 might just make the leap forward worth your while.

Best credit cards for iPhone 16

With prices for the iPhone 16 starting from S$1,299, this is definitely a great opportunity to earn some credit card rewards. Here are some of our recommended credit cards to use for a juicy stack of reward points, air miles or cashback on your iPhone 16 upgrade.