The iPhone 16 Series is Here: A18 Chip, 45W Fast Charging, But Do You Really Need It?

The iPhone 16 Series is Here: A18 Chip, 45W Fast Charging, But Do You Really Need It?The iPhone 16 series opened pre-orders on September 13th, with official sales starting a week later on September 20th. For users looking to upgrade, how do you choose between the brand-new iPhone 16 series and the discounted iPhone 15 series? Should existing iPhone 15 owners upgrade?While many media outlets, including industry figures like Luo Yonghao and Jia Yueting, have criticized Apple for a lack of innovation, the truth is that the iPhone 16 series is not without its surprises, and its not just a mindless choice of the iPhone 15 series as some media outlets claim

The iPhone 16 Series is Here: A18 Chip, 45W Fast Charging, But Do You Really Need It?

The iPhone 16 series opened pre-orders on September 13th, with official sales starting a week later on September 20th. For users looking to upgrade, how do you choose between the brand-new iPhone 16 series and the discounted iPhone 15 series? Should existing iPhone 15 owners upgrade?

While many media outlets, including industry figures like Luo Yonghao and Jia Yueting, have criticized Apple for a lack of innovation, the truth is that the iPhone 16 series is not without its surprises, and its not just a mindless choice of the iPhone 15 series as some media outlets claim. Of course, purchasing an iPhone requires more than just considering product specs; your usage needs and budget also play a significant role in choosing the right product.

Three Major Upgrades, The iPhone 16 Remains "Worth It"

It's undeniable that with the collaborative efforts of upstream suppliers like Qualcomm, MediaTek, TSMC, and Google, as well as downstream smartphone manufacturers like OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor, Android flagship phones have become increasingly competitive. The iPhone has gradually lost its position as the industry leader, leading Jia Yueting to even claim that Apple has become mediocre since the loss of Steve Jobs, while Luo Yonghao criticizes the iPhone 16 series for lacking innovation. However, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse; although Apple's innovative breakthroughs may not be as remarkable as before, it's far from being a company devoid of innovation as Jia Yueting and Luo Yonghao suggest.

The iPhone 16 series boasts upgrades in performance, camera, and appearance, adding up to a total of three major upgrade points.

First, A18 and A18 Pro power the iPhone 16 series, bringing significant performance and power consumption upgrades.

Unlike the previous series where the standard and Plus models used the previous generations chips, the entire iPhone 16 series has been upgraded to the A18 series. The iPhone 16/16 Plus comes with the A18 chip, featuring a 6-core CPU, including 2 performance cores and 4 energy-efficient cores. It also has a 5-core GPU, a 16-core neural engine. The A18 Pro chip adds another core to the GPU.

Compared to the A17 Pro, the A18 Pro delivers a 15% CPU performance improvement, 20% lower power consumption, a 20% GPU performance boost, and significant improvements in system memory bandwidth and Apple Intelligence speed.

Second, designed for Apple Intelligence, AI performance receives a major upgrade.

Global smartphone giants are all investing in AI, and Apple is no exception. The iPhone 16 series is Apple's product designed specifically for Apple Intelligence, marking a new era for iPhone. Although the AI features of the iPhone 16 are currently unavailable, the iPhone 16 series' competitiveness would significantly decline without AI functionality. We believe Apple will take a more proactive approach to promoting the implementation of Apple Intelligence in China.

Additionally, the iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max also supports AI features, albeit with slightly lower efficiency compared to the A18/A18 Pro chips in the iPhone 16 series.

Third, 45W, a major upgrade in iPhone charging.

Many users seem to be stuck in the past with their perception of iPhone fast charging technology, still associating it with 5V1A or 5V2A. However, the iPhone has long supported a maximum of 14.5V/2A 29W fast charging. Now, the iPhone 16 series takes fast charging to the next level, supporting a maximum of 15V/3A 45W fast charging. Although 45W might be considered "slow charging" compared to Android flagship phones, it represents a 50% increase in charging power compared to previous generations of iPhones.

With these three major upgrades, the iPhone 16 series is undoubtedly a worthy upgrade compared to previous Apple products. However, as always, the decision between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 series should go beyond just the products themselves; your budget and needs are equally critical.

Priority Given to Budget and Needs: How Do You Choose the Right iPhone?

While a price of 5999 yuan might be enough to purchase a top-of-the-line Android phone, it's only the starting price for the iPhone 16 series. On the other hand, the iPhone 15 series has been steadily dropping in price, now starting at 4758 yuan during the Hundred Billion Subsidy event on a certain e-commerce platform. Some third-party stores even offer the iPhone 15 at a starting price of less than 4500 yuan. For this comparative analysis, we will use the Hundred Billion Subsidy prices on this platform.

First, 4000 yuan - 5999 yuan price range.

5999 yuan is only enough for the base model of the iPhone 16, which comes with 128GB of storage. Therefore, unless you have an extremely high need for Apple Intelligence, the 256GB iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus is a better option.

Second, 5999 yuan - 7999 yuan price range.

Within this price range, you can purchase the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Plus with 128GB and 256GB storage options. The latter two have stronger CPU, GPU, and AI performance, but they are not part of the Pro series, meaning they lack telephoto lenses and high refresh rate screens.

In this price range, we recommend the iPhone 15 Pro for those seeking a balanced experience, while the iPhone 16 Plus is the better choice for those prioritizing a larger screen. As for the iPhone 16, both the 128GB and 256GB versions are priced similarly to the iPhone 15 Pro, with a difference of only around 300 yuan. In our opinion, spending a little extra for the iPhone 15 Pro would be more worthwhile.

Third, 7999 yuan - 9999 yuan price range.

This price range offers a broader selection of models. We recommend distinguishing between them based on storage capacity. If you need 512GB or 1TB of large storage, there are the iPhone 15 Pro 512GB and 1TB, the iPhone 15 Pro Max 512GB, and the iPhone 16/16 Plus 512GB, with the iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max being the most recommended option.

If you don't need large storage, you can choose between the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB and 256GB, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB versions. The 256GB versions of the iPhone 16 Pro/16 Pro Max differ in price by 1000 yuan, and apart from screen size, they have identical configurations. The choice between the two depends on your budget and your preference for a smaller or larger screen.

Fourth, 9999 yuan and above.

At this price point, it essentially boils down to a choice between the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, primarily based on your screen size preference small or large. After all, even the iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB top-of-the-line model only costs 13999 yuan, still significantly less than the starting price of the Huawei Mate XT.

Finally, as usual, whenever a new iPhone model launches, scalpers will buy and resell them at inflated prices. Although the iPhone 15 series brought losses to scalpers last year, scalping is likely to continue for the iPhone 16 series. If you couldnt secure a pre-order through official channels, we advise against buying from scalpers at exorbitant prices. Its worth noting that Apple has had relatively ample stock availability for new iPhones in recent years. Moreover, Double 11, the annual shopping festival in China, is just around the corner, followed by Double 12, a slightly smaller online shopping event. During these shopping festivals, even if Apple doesnt offer discounts directly, platforms usually provide subsidies, significantly reducing the cost of purchasing the iPhone 16 series.

If you are a die-hard Apple fan who simply has to get your hands on the first batch of iPhone 16 on September 20th, weve heard that several platforms are vying to secure the first-day launch of the iPhone 16 series. For example, Ele.me, a popular food delivery app in China, will be offering pre-orders and same-day delivery of the iPhone 16. Users can pre-order with full payment in advance and receive their new phones within 30 minutes on the day of the official release (September 20th). The platform also offers installment payments, sealed packaging, and dedicated delivery services. If you want to get