In-Depth Experience with the iPhone 16 Series: Is It Worth Upgrading?

In-Depth Experience with the iPhone 16 Series: Is It Worth Upgrading?On September 10th, Apple unveiled the highly anticipated iPhone 16 series, with official release on September 20th. We've spent the past three days diving deep into the iPhone 16 series and are here to share our thoughts and help you decide if it's time to upgrade

In-Depth Experience with the iPhone 16 Series: Is It Worth Upgrading?

On September 10th, Apple unveiled the highly anticipated iPhone 16 series, with official release on September 20th. We've spent the past three days diving deep into the iPhone 16 series and are here to share our thoughts and help you decide if it's time to upgrade.

1. Design: Subtle Enhancements, a Return to Classic Style

The iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max retains the design of its predecessor with subtle adjustments. The screen bezels are further reduced, and the body size is slightly larger. The iPhone 16 Pro screen size increases from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max goes from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches. Unfortunately, the thin and light design from last year wasn't carried over. The iPhone 16 Pro now weighs 199 grams, up from 187 grams, and the Pro Max weighs 227 grams (measured at 229 grams), increasing from 221 grams. The measured thickness is 8.2 mm.

The Pro series color options seem relatively conservative. The Desert Titanium doesn't stand out like past colors like Deep Blue or Midnight Purple. The color of the Desert glass back panel is very restrained, reminiscent of the matte finish of the iPhone 8 Gold, with a pink sheen under light, offering an elegant "rose gold" feel.

The new Camera Control Button sits on the right side of the frame. It's flush with the frame and covered with sapphire glass, providing tactile feedback. Apple demonstrates its mastery of titanium framing in the details. The Black Titanium and White Titanium color options are closer to pure black and white than their predecessors. Last year's criticized metal brushing effect is gone. This year's frame has a surface treatment somewhere between traditional matte and glossy, but it still easily attracts fingerprints.

Compared to the Pro series, the standard iPhone 16 offers more significant design changes. Both standard models retain the gradient glass back panel from the iPhone 15 series but opt for bolder, more vibrant colors. The Pink, Deep Blue, and Azure may be controversial, but their actual appearance is hard to convey in renders or even photos. If you can't accept these three colors, this year's Black and White are very pure and a safe choice.

Another change is the return of the vertical dual-camera arrangement for the standard iPhone 16. It makes one appreciate the cyclical nature of design trends. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus maintain the same body size as their predecessors, with slightly reduced weight. IT House measured a thickness of 7.8 mm and a weight of 171 grams, which is quite impressive in the era of "half-pound phones." Since Apple changed the corners of the phone to be more rounded last year, combined with the fine sandblasted frame and matte back cover, the standard iPhone feels smoother to hold.

2. Camera: Mixed Feelings about the Camera Control Button

Apple has equipped all four iPhone 16 series models with a new Camera Control Button. The official advertising describes an ideal use scenario, but the actual experience has some issues. This button's interaction has three levels: swipe, light press (pressure sensitive), and press (physical button).

The quick launch camera function is very convenient. You can directly launch the camera by pressing the Camera Control Button repeatedly while the screen is off or by pressing it once in any lit screen interface. The photo and video functions are also intuitive. Pressing the Camera Control Button takes a picture directly, and holding it down starts recording a video. Releasing it ends the recording, making it easy to capture moments in life.

However, adjusting camera settings requires a combination of swiping and light pressing (pressure sensitive), which isn't very intuitive. Also, because this button occupies the position of the millimeter wave antenna on U.S. models, it partially addresses the landscape and portrait use experience. However, from another perspective, it's not very user-friendly in landscape or portrait mode.

The distinction between pressure sensing and physical button pressing presents challenges for users. Pressing the button also causes a considerable shake in the phone. Before the phone's release, the idea of swipe zoom control was ideal, but in actual use, it's hard to control precisely. Directly switching between 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x camera options is more predictable.

2.2 New Photography Style: The Surprise of the Universal Filter

Apple has optimized the phone's image processing pipeline this generation, making the Photography Style function an ideal "universal filter." Besides features like skin protection, you can freely adjust the tone and color using the new control panel. Moreover, the Photography Style effects aren't completely solidified in the photo and can be re-edited in the album. While it's unclear how much additional information this function "packages up" into the photo, compared to traditional filter apps, the chances of issues like image discontinuity are much lower.

2.3 iPhone 16 Pro: All Three Lenses are New

The iPhone 16 Pro series introduces a new main camera, but its performance in photography isn't significantly different from the previous generation. The new 4K120fps Dolby Vision video recording feature further widens iPhone's lead in the field of mobile video recording. The ultra-wide camera finally upgrades to a 48MP sensor and supports macro shooting, but unfortunately, this generation doesn't offer a 24MP mode for the ultra-wide camera.

In terms of telephoto, the Pro upgrades from last year's 3x telephoto to the same 5x lens as the Pro Max. However, the lack of a lens between 3x and 4.9x results in slightly worse image quality for the iPhone 16 Pro in this focal length range compared to the previous generation.

3. Performance and Battery Life: Improved Performance, Hope for Better Cooling

Apple's A-series chips consistently deliver exceptional performance and energy efficiency. However, their cooling capabilities have always been a concern for users. This time, Apple directly mentioned cooling improvements at the launch event, claiming a 30% increase in sustained performance for the standard model and a 20% increase for the Pro. iFixit's teardown also showcases the cooling solution for this year's standard model. While it's just an aluminum plate and some thermal material, it raises hopes for further improvements to Apple's cooling system next year.

3.2 Battery and Battery Life: Improved Battery Life, Still "27W" Fast Charging

This year's iPhone battery capacity has also increased, with the most significant improvement for the iPhone 16 Pro at 9.40%. In our dual-SIM 5G indoor and outdoor mixed high-intensity "surfing the web" scenario, the 3582 mAh iPhone 16 Pro didn't struggle with a screen-on time of over 7 hours. The Pro Max's battery life is even more promising.

The long-rumored fast-charging power increase is finally revealed. The Pro Max model can indeed reach a peak of 39W in a short time, but the impact on overall charging time is negligible. For the user's actual experience, the iPhone 16 series remains the "27W fast charging" phone.

4. Should You Upgrade from an Older iPhone?

The iPhone 16 series offers improvements in performance, camera software features, etc., but the overall upgrade is not substantial and feels more like an iPhone 15s. Users with an iPhone 14 or older will experience notable improvements in everyday use, and the Type-C interface means carrying one less Lightning cable.

For Android users, the standard iPhone 16 and next year's rumored iPhone SE4 could be good options for a secondary iOS device to experience the Apple ecosystem. iPhone 15 users who can tolerate the heat might want to wait for next year's iPhone 17 series before making a decision.

Conclusion

The iPhone 16 series is indeed a "toothpaste" generation, but the A18 chip improvements, further enhancements to camera software features, and standard 8GB RAM still deliver a good user experience. Ultimately, the decision of whether to upgrade depends on your individual needs and budget.

Some media reviews of the iPhone 16 series:

• TechRadar: The lines between the standard iPhone and the Pro are blurring.

• Engadget: The iPhone 16 is a powerful, affordable, and surprisingly fresh product.

• WIRED: The Pro is mostly about fancy camera features.

• TheVerge: The iPhone 16 Pro is a good phone that holds some intriguing ideas about smartphone photography, but it's not fully there yet.

• DPReview: This is a good upgrade for iPhone 13 users.

We hope this article helps you better understand the iPhone 16 series and make an informed decision.