A Week with iPhone 16: From Android to Apple, and Back?

A Week with iPhone 16: From Android to Apple, and Back?In the tech world, there are always those who firmly believe that Apple iPhone is the ultimate smartphone, with its "ecosystem" far surpassing the connectivity of Android phones, and iOS being vastly superior to Android. One of my colleagues is a staunch Apple fan, and with the release of the iPhone 16 series, many of our colleagues who previously used Apple are eager to switch to Android flagships

A Week with iPhone 16: From Android to Apple, and Back?

In the tech world, there are always those who firmly believe that Apple iPhone is the ultimate smartphone, with its "ecosystem" far surpassing the connectivity of Android phones, and iOS being vastly superior to Android. One of my colleagues is a staunch Apple fan, and with the release of the iPhone 16 series, many of our colleagues who previously used Apple are eager to switch to Android flagships. As a long-time Android user, I decided to become a "counter-trend" and experience the iPhone 16 for a week to see what the allure is, and if it could truly make me abandon Android.

Data Sync: Gaps Still Exist

For those unfamiliar with Apple devices, data migration is a significant consideration. The iPhone 16's setup process guides users to download the "Move to iOS" app, which can transfer messages, contacts, calendars, photos, apps, and settings to the iPhone. However, this process is not entirely seamless.

Apps transferred from Android phones merely provide a list of apps available on the App Store, without any data. This means that crucial information like WeChat message history still requires traditional migration methods. More troublesome is Apple's restricted app market only apps listed on the Chinese App Store can be successfully migrated, while others will be lost. To use overseas apps, users must consider switching regions, which is highly inconvenient for me.

System Fluency and Stuttering Co-Exist

iOS's system animations are indeed smooth, even with the iPhone 16's 60Hz screen. App switching and various swipe actions feel very fluid. However, this fluency doesn't surpass the system animations of Android flagship phones, and the 60Hz screen still makes scrolling through social media feeds feel sluggish. In 2024, spending 5999 for a 60Hz phone is truly an "OnlyAppleCanDo" move.

Furthermore, there are some peculiar aspects of the system experience. Camera settings, for instance, require adjustments in the settings app, and the controversial "swipe back" functionality is questionable. iOS's swipe back isn't entirely unusable, but its inconsistency makes it unreliable. While you can swipe left to return to the previous screen in ordinary apps, many search interfaces don't support swipe back, forcing users to rely on the back button. Apple Music's playback interface also lacks swipe back, requiring you to scroll down to exit for normal operation.

Android's common "features" like split-screen mode, picture-in-picture mode, etc., are not supported by iOS. Meanwhile, functions like long screenshots, call recording, and always-on display, already standard on recent Android devices, are still absent on the iPhone.

Background Management: Not Flawless

Despite the iPhone 16's 8GB RAM configuration, its background management hasn't shown significant improvement, comparable to a standard feature on thousand-yuan Android phones. Apple's background management can indeed keep more apps in the background, but I encountered situations where background apps were reloaded, like old photos that weren't killed while a recently opened Zhihu app was terminated.

Overall, compared to the several Android flagship phones I've used previously, the iPhone 16's background management performance is commendable, but not flawless.

Imaging Capabilities: Can't Match Android

The iPhone 16's imaging hardware upgrades are limited. The main camera remains the same as the iPhone 15, and the ultrawide camera's aperture expands from f/2.4 to f/2.2. In real-world daytime shooting, picture quality is comparable to the iPhone 15, retaining good dark detail and accurate color reproduction. The ultrawide lens is upgraded to the level of the iPhone 14 Pro, but the quality still isn't ideal when zoomed in.

The newly introduced macro photography is no longer a novel feature in the Android camp, but it's still quite useful for capturing toys. Telephoto is still absent, with only 2X zoom provided by the main lens.

The iPhone 16 introduces a new "Photographic Styles" feature, which essentially acts as a RAW-like color filter. It allows for real-time parameter adjustments, preventing abrupt transitions in the image, a relatively innovative feature.

As for the camera control buttons, due to personal usage habits, I struggle to grasp the pressing force required, and the operating logic is not intuitive.

Performance: Slightly Behind Android Flagships

The iPhone 16 is equipped with the A18 chip, the same generation as the Pro version. It scores 3252 in the GeekBench CPU single-core test and 7947 in the multi-core test, demonstrating remarkable performance. However, its GPU performance still falls short of the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and Dimensity 9300, with a roughly 10% performance gap.

In actual gaming, the iPhone 16 runs popular 3A games smoothly at 60 frames, exceeding the Xiaomi 14 equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen3. However, the phone's temperature also rises. In light gaming, due to the 60Hz screen limitation, the 120Hz MOBA experience is noticeably different from the 60Hz one.

Signal and Battery Life: Average Performance

In everyday scenarios, it's difficult to perceive any difference in signal quality between the iPhone 16 and other phones. However, during long journeys, in areas with weak signals like train stations, the iPhone 16 often struggles to maintain a stable 4G connection or even disconnects. Similar issues arise in subway stations and elevators, while the Xiaomi 14 exhibits relatively stable connectivity, though whether it can access the internet is another matter.

Battery life-wise, the iPhone 16's battery capacity is upgraded to 3561mAh, and the official claims that wired charging speeds are also improved. In real-world testing, due to the 60Hz screen and iOS scheduling strategies, the iPhone 16's battery life is satisfactory, comparable to the Xiaomi 14, offering half a day's usage time. As for wired fast charging, it's still a 27W charger, lagging behind Android offerings.

iOS Is an Advantage, But Users Should Be Cautious

Overall, the iPhone 16 offers a secure, reliable, and smooth iOS system, with commendable integration into Apple's ecosystem. However, the product itself lacks remarkable specs, and the absence of certain system features and awkward design aspects pose significant inconveniences. Particularly, the restricted app region is unacceptable for me as a foreign mobile game enthusiast.

In conclusion, the iPhone 16 is not perfect. It has its strengths and weaknesses. For me, it's not a viable option as a primary device for now. But this experience has revealed that the smartphone market is like a besieged city, each phone has its pros and cons, and the final choice depends on individual needs. Dual-wielding might be the most sensible choice, but it requires a hefty wallet.