Is the iPhone 16 Still Worth Buying After the iPhone 17 Launch?

Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 17 series on Tuesday during its ‘Awe Dropping' launch event. The new lineup includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Cupertino tech giant also unveiled the new iPhone Air, which replaces the iPhone Plus model. Apart from the smartphones, the company also launched the Watch Series 11, Watch Ultra 3, and Watch SE 3. With the launch of the iPhone 17, the price of last year's iPhone 16 in India has come down. This has confused customers about whether the iPhone 16 is still a good buy or if they should wait for the iPhone 17 to go on sale.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 Price in India

The price of last year's iPhone 16 in India has been slashed by Rs. 10,000, coming down to Rs. 69,900 for the sole 128GB storage variant. The 256GB and 512 GB storage models have been discontinued, and the higher-end 256GB storage option will only be available with the iPhone 16 Plus. The iPhone 16 is offered in Black, Pink, Teal, Ultramarine, and White colourways, and is currently available on the official Apple website.

On the other hand, the new iPhone 17's price in India starts at Rs. 82,900 for the base 256GB storage variant. The phone will be offered with a 512GB storage option as well. However, the pricing of the same has yet to be revealed. The iPhone 17 will ship in Lavender, Mist Blue, Sage, White, and Black colourways. It will be available for pre-orders from September 12, while the deliveries will begin on September 19.

Hence, while the iPhone 16 is relatively cheaper than the iPhone 17, the latter offers higher base storage. For customers looking to buy an iPhone model immediately and save about Rs. 13,000, the iPhone 16 might be a decent choice. However, for people who want the latest smartphone with higher onboard storage, the iPhone 17 could offer more value.

iPhone 16 Specifications, Features in September 2025

The iPhone 16 is a dual SIM (Nano+eSIM) smartphone, the same as the new iPhone 17. However, the iPhone 17 will run on iOS 26 out of the box, while the iPhone 16 will receive the same via an OTA update. Hence, iPhone 17 will receive one extra year of software upgrades over the iPhone 16.

Last year's smartphone is powered by a 3nm octa-core Apple A18 chipset, which features a six-core CPU, five-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine. It is still a powerful SoC, which packs plenty of processing power for everyday and occasional heavy usage. It also supports Apple Intelligence features, the same as the latest iPhone model.

It sports a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, which offers a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits and a 60Hz refresh rate, along with enhanced Ceramic Shield protection and a pill-shaped Dynamic Island feature.

While the iPhone 17 does not carry any major design changes, it does offer a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED ProMotion display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate. This is a significant upgrade, as many owners of the standard iPhone models have complained about the low refresh rate.

Additionally, the iPhone 16 is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance, and unlike its predecessor, it features an action button on the left side and a Camera Control button on the right. For photos and videos, the phone carries a dual rear camera unit.

The rear camera setup is headlined by a 48-megapixel (f/1.6) wide-angle shooter, offering 2x in-sensor zoom and macro photography capabilities, paired with a 12-megapixel (f/2.2) ultrawide-angle sensor with autofocus.

The iPhone 16 also supports Spatial video and image capturing. On the front, it has a 12-megapixel selfie camera. While this would meet the photography and videography needs of most people, those who also want a 48-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens can buy the iPhone 17 instead.