iPhone 16 packs ‘30% better’ gaming performance

Apple has unveiled its new lineup of iPhone 16 phones that come packed with a new A18 chip that it claims can run games at a 30% higher sustained performance.

The range includes the standard iPhone 16, Plus, Pro and Pro Max devices. The firm said the new six-core CPU is 30% faster than the A16 Bionic chip and is able to run the same workload at 30% less power. The five-core GPU, meanwhile, is up to 40% faster and 35% more efficient.

Apple claimed that with hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, games on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus now more accurately represent the behaviour of light with up to 5x higher frame rates than with software-based ray-tracing. Overall, Apple said the chip delivers up to 30% higher sustained performance for gaming.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will support “triple-A” games previously available on iPhone 15 Pro, which includes Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

To date, AppMagic estimates show those games have generated a combined 2.2 million downloads and $1.4m in gross revenue. Touting its future potential, Apple said the new models would support new titles like Tencent’s upcoming Honor of Kings: World with “ultra graphics mode”.

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, meanwhile, will house the A18 Pro chip. Apple said the GPU up to 20% faster than the previous generation A17 Pro chip, while the CPU can run the same workload as the last-gen chip 15% faster while using 20% less power.

Apple AI

One of the key features for the latest iPhones is Apple Intelligence support, which will be available as a free software update from next month in U.S. English across most regions.

Noted use-cases include the ability to rewrite, proofread and summarise text across Apple’s own and third-party apps. Users can also record, transcribe and summarise audio, including for phone calls.

As previously announced, iOS 18 will also offer access to OpenAI’s generative AI tech ChatGPT, which can be accessed while using Siri and Writing Tools.

The iPhone 16, Plus, Pro and Pro Max are set to release in more than 58 countries, including the US, UK, China, Germany and others, on September 20th. Pre-orders will be available starting September 13th.

Prices will start at $799 for the iPhone 16 and $899 for the iPhone 16 Plus. The iPhone 16 Pro will start at $999, while the iPhone Pro Max will start at $1,199.