iPhone 16 UK release date, price and where to buy now

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Following the success of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which were the two best-selling smartphones worldwide in 2023, the pressure was certainly on for Apple to take things up another notch.

But, as usual, we weren't disappointed. On the surface, the iPhone 16 series bears the sleekest design yet, with thinner bezels, tougher screens and a new stacked camera arrangement – which also happens to boost light levels.

You then barely have to scratch the surface before you find all the new and improved features of the devices and their iOS18 software, from faster charging to super telephoto cameras, and that's without mentioning the inclusion of AI.

We'll of course get into all of this below, as well as the new phones' release date, price and where best to buy it from. Plus, don't forget to check out the best iPhone 16 deals.

We've been covering all the latest UK Apple news, so we have the most up-to-date information on the new Apple Watch Series 10 release date and Apple AirPods 4 release date.

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iPhone 16 UK release date
iPhone 16 UK price
iPhone 16 design
iPhone 16 specs
Where to buy iPhone 16

iPhone 16 UK release date: When is the new phone coming out?

iPhone 16 Pro in Desert Titanium — Apple

The iPhone 16 was available to buy outright from Friday 20th September.

This applies to the entire iPhone 16 range, so the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

With Black Friday on the horizon, take a look at our When is Black Friday? guide for the latest details. Plus, for early offers, check out Does Apple do Black Friday?

iPhone 16 UK price: How much does the new iPhone cost?

The iPhone 16 has a starting price of £799 for the smallest 128GB model. This is followed by the iPhone 16 Plus at £899, the iPhone 16 Pro at £999 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max at £1,199.

Here's a full breakdown of each new model in the iPhone 16 range with varying storage capacities:

iPhone 16

128GB | £799
256GB | £899
512GB | £1,099

iPhone 16 Plus

128GB | £899
256GB | £999
512GB | £1,199

iPhone 16 Pro

128GB | £999
256GB | £1,099
512GB | £1,299
1TB| £1,499

iPhone 16 Pro Max

256GB | £1,199
512GB | £1,399
ITB | £1,599

iPhone 16 design: What colours does the new iPhone come in?

The five colourways of the iPhone 16 — Apple

The iPhone 16 range has a sliding scale of sizes, the smallest being the iPhone 16 at 6.1-inches and the iPhone 16 Plus at 6.7-inches. The Pro and Pro Max have both been enlarged by 0.2-inches to now measure in at 6.3-inches and 6.9-inches (the largest iPhone yet).

The new Pro models also boast the thinnest-ever bezels, plus they feature OLED screens with a 1-120hz adaptive refresh rate – so they're brighter and clearer than ever before.

One of the biggest switch-ups is that the iPhone 16 range will have vertically aligned cameras instead of the square cut-out we're used to. Alongside this, the phones feature a new Camera Control button, which can be used to capture photos without touching or interacting with the screen.

Now onto the topic you're really interested in: the colours. With the theme "It's glowtime" hovering over this whole launch, you won't be surprised that the new iPhone 16 colourways have a certain brightness to them.

For the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, the five new colourways are White, Black, Teal, Pink and Ultramarine.

Meanwhile, the 16 Pro 16 Pro Max are made from Grade 5 Titanium and come in Darker Black, Brighter White, Natural, and Desert.

iPhone 16 specs: What's new about the iPhone 16?

The iPhone 16's all come loaded with the new iOS 18 software and new A18 chip, which follows the trend of other recent phone releases by placing a heavy emphasis on AI.

The rumours ahead of the Apple event were that these features would include AI-created emojis, a tone adjuster for messages, and notification summaries – which all turned out to be correct, alongside a whole host of other functions like enhanced photo search and a "Clean Up" option that removes unwanted objects from your images.

After much speculation, it turns out that the tagline "It's Glowtime" appears to be in reference to the new Siri UI for Apple Intelligence. Which, rather than appearing as a small ball at the bottom of the screen, causes all the edges of the phone to light up and glow.

Siri is also now also scarily clever; following stumbles in speech, giving you step-by-step guidance for how to use your phone, and using your so-called "context" to be able to understand vaguer commands, for instance "send Hannah photos from the bbq" and "find the album she sent me."

Apart from AI, the iPhone 16 has once again stepped up its camera. As we've said, the new Camera Control button allows you to take photos and adjust camera settings without opening the app, as well as search the things you take photos with using AI. The iPhone 16 sports a 48MP 2x telephoto lens, and a new 12MP ultra-wide camera that can capture 2.6X more light and enables Macro Photography – getting more details than ever before. Meanwhile, the 16 Pro has three cameras: a 48MP Fusion camera, a 48MP Ultra-wide camera and a 5x Telephoto camera.

There's also a brand-new Action button on the side. This button is designed to perform a series of quick actions such as recording a voice memo, identifying a song, or translating a phrase. Best of all, it's completely customisable so you can set it to do different things at different times of day.

Lastly, Apple has supercharged (as it were) the battery strength, durability and safety. The new glass-ceramic shield is 50% tougher than before and, in case you get lost, the phone can send and receive SOS messages via satellite.

Where will you be able to buy the new iPhone 16 in the UK?

The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are all now available to buy outright in the UK. You'll be able to get it directly from Apple.

However, if you're looking for a new data contract to go with it, or perhaps you're after a few freebies, we'd recommend looking at the phone through other retailers and mobile networks. For instance, when you buy through John Lewis, you can get the phone and 20% off the Apple 20W USB-C Power Adapter (2024).