Compare iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and OnePlus phones with source-based buying advice, upgrade guidance, repair considerations and new, used or refurbished shopping checks.
A $99 battery is 12.4% of the $799 launch price of the iPhone 16. This desk review works the replace-vs-upgrade decision from Apple’s published fees and the 80% battery-health threshold — no hands-on claims, no invented prices.
Apple’s screen fee for the iPhone 16 is $279 — 34.9% of its $799 launch price. This decision guide runs the repair-versus-replace maths step by step, including the $369 two-glass case and the $549 borderline.
iFixit’s own teardown of the base iPhone 16 gives it a provisional 7/10 — electrically released battery adhesive, front-or-back entry, one welded button. This desk review works through the findings and Apple’s fees.
Apple specifies a built-in stereo speaker for the iPhone 16 — and publishes no loudness figure and no microphone count for it. This desk review reports the absence as the finding, and prices the repair route.
Apple publishes two fast-charge claims for the iPhone 16 — wired 50% in 30 minutes on a 20W+ adapter, MagSafe 50% in 30 minutes on a 30W+ adapter. This desk review keeps the lanes separate.
Gaming on the iPhone 16, reviewed from Apple’s specifications and one attributed laboratory source: the A18’s 5-core GPU under a 60Hz-class panel with no ProMotion, with Notebookcheck’s Gamebench measurements showing Genshin Impact reaching the 60 fps maximum at its highest graphics details and PUBG Mobile at a near-constant 60 fps on HD settings for this exact model — stress temperatures up to 45.3 °C, a measured maximum-load battery runtime of 3 hours 37 minutes as the floor under Apple’s 22-hour video claim, and no per-game drain figure printed, because none is published for this model.
The iPhone 16’s performance, reviewed from Apple’s specifications and one attributed laboratory source: the A18 chip (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine — manufacturer specifications), with Notebookcheck’s laboratory recording Geekbench 6.7 scores of 3,377 single-core and 8,362 multi-core and an AnTuTu v10 total of 1,632,305 for this exact model, stress-test stability from 93.3% down to 68.7%, surface temperatures up to 45.3 °C under an hour of stress — and a $99 battery service fee as the cheapest performance restoration the phone offers.
The iPhone 16’s build, reviewed from Apple’s specifications, announcement claims and published fees: an aluminum design at 170 g with a latest-generation Ceramic Shield front and a color-infused glass back, rated IP68 (6 metres, up to 30 minutes) as a laboratory result for a new device — with no drop height published by Apple and none invented here — and the fee table that prices the common failures: screen $279, back glass $159 current, both together $369, other damage $549.
The iPhone 16 display, reviewed from Apple’s specifications and one attributed laboratory source: a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED at 2556×1179 and 460 ppi, rated 1,000 nits typical, 1,600 nits HDR peak and 2,000 nits outdoors (manufacturer specifications), with Notebookcheck’s laboratory measuring a 1,107 cd/m² maximum, a 0.9 ColorChecker ΔE and 99.7% sRGB coverage on this exact model — no ProMotion and no Always-On, both absent by design — and the $279 out-of-warranty screen fee that frames every cracked-screen decision.