As we’reapproaching the end of the year , all the major manufacturer have launched their flagship smartphones , including Apple , which released itsiPhone 16line . While I ’ve tried out my fair share ofAndroid phonesthis class , I ’ve go on my yearly tradition of purchasing a new iPhone — it simply works best for medue to the ecosystem .
This year , Appleblurred the line of work even more between the base iPhone 16 and the higher - endiPhone 16 Promodels . I go with the iPhone 16 Pro , mostly because I need the 1 TB memory board — I ’m well past the 512 GB threshold .
But if it were n’t for my 1 TB requirement , I ’m not sure I would have go with a Pro this class , after age of doing so .
The iPhone 16 Pro design is so boring
Apple went all out this yr with the iPhone 16 . There ’s the bright and bold colors ( I adore that pink ) , the new elusive camera change , a two - year jump in processor power with the A18 , and more “ Pro ” feature like theAction button . And Apple even bestow theCamera Controlto all iPhone 16 models , so you do n’t even need the Pro variant to get it .
But then you look at the iPhone 16 Pro , and , besides the Camera Control , it looks somewhat muchexactly the sameas theiPhone 15 Pro . I desire the iPhone 16 Pro becauseI postulate 1 TB of storage , and I also wanted the Camera Control and the 5x telephotograph lens I omit out on last year .
If it were n’t for these factors , I do n’t think I would ’ve been concerned in the iPhone 16 Pro at all . The overall deficiency of design changes has made the Pro models a bit tiresome and stale this year , especially when you reckon justhowgoodthe infrastructure mannikin iPhone 16 is .
And let ’s peach about those colors — they ’re just about as dull as they come on the iPhone 16 Pro . Black and blanched are your standard neutral option , followed by Natural Titanium , like last twelvemonth , and Desert Titanium , which depend like Champagne-Ardenne amber . Yeah , I ’m not a fan . They ’re suave , boring , and hardly different from each other and last year ’s colors . I still ca n’t trust Apple got rid of the Blue Titanium , last year ’s best Pro iPhone people of colour .
I adore the new Pink , Teal , and Ultramarine colors for the base iPhone 16 . Why could n’t Apple make good semblance like that for the Pro fashion model ? Even Google apply us a pale pink Rose Quartz colouring for thePixel 9 Pro , which isn’tquiteas goodas the PeonyPixel 9 , but still , at least it ’s a pinkish Pro model ! Apple could at least add back the Rose Gold from the iPhone 6 days .
Camera Control disappoints
Camera Control is one of the big newfangled computer hardware feature of this generation , and it ’s not sole to the Pro example . But given that I needed 1 TB storage and also want the 5x telephoto , it was the logical way to go .
aboveboard , the Camera Control does n’t make it any easy to take photograph than using the touch screen . I have found it utile for quickly accessing the Camera app and dislodge up my natural process release ( previously map to Camera ) for something else .
But the position ofthe Camera Control makes it a small awkward for me to take landscape photos . Even afteradjusting the pressure sensitivity , there ’s still going to be more camera tremble using that than when using the touchscreen shutter . Even conform background feels quicker using the onscreen control rather than the Camera Control , at least from my experience .
I find likeApple put Camera Control in the wrong smear . I ’ve used it on myiPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Maxthat I reviewed , and both require me to adjust how I admit the phone to take a photo . Camera Control should have been glower a teensy bit toward the bottom , so it ’s closer to the edge in landscape painting orientation . And possibly if it were n’t ride wealthy with the frame , it would be soft to agitate without shaking .
I wish I had gotten the iPhone 16
I ’ve seen a slew of common people online talking about how they went with the regular iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus instead of the Pro good example after years of using an iPhone Pro . And I ’ll be true — I kind of wish I could have , too .
I ’m in love with the pinkish color , and I think Apple even outdid Google with pink this year . And I ’ll accept it — I ’ve wanted a unfeigned pink iPhone foryears . The Teal and Ultramarine colors are pretty amazing , too .
Again , Apple seems to be blurring the lines between the base and Pro models even more . The iPhone 16 has almost all the “ Pro ” features : A18 , an Action release , and Camera Control . The only advantage the Pro mannikin have are more storage , a telephoto camera , a slightly faster chip , and well always - on displays with ProMotion 120Hz refresh rates .
If it were n’t for the fact that I need 1 TB storage ( I have a lot of picture and apps ! ) and want the 5x telephoto camera , I probably would have been fine with an iPhone 16 . That ’s not a stance I ’ve been in before , but that ’s where I ’m at with the iPhone 16 family . It ’s a testament to just how good the even iPhone 16 is this year , and how iterative the iPhone 16 Pro is .