I resisted for years for a number of reasons, but after spending time on the iPhone 14 Pro, then the 15 Plus for three months as my primary device; the iOS ecosystem is growing on me. Partly for the integration with other hardware I use for work, but also because it’s just effortless. This time around I was really impressed for a number of reasons.
What’s new and improved?
In what I now recognise as true “Apple” form, there’s a lot of little tweaks that most users probably won’t notice as a generational iteration, but they all add up to a much better user experience. The camera has had an upgrade, now
What impressed me
There isn’t any doubt that Apple make incredible hardware, you just have to spend a bit of time looking at it to know that. The quality of build is excellent; the presentation is unmistakable and — provided you take care of it — the resale value is pretty high. If you’re investing in a phone that’s $2,000 or more and upgrading regularly, this is increases the attractiveness of the device, knowing your upgrade costs are going to be minimised through increased resale value.
One of the immediate selling points for my mind was the value delivered by the battery life. Seriously, wow… Even as a heavy (some days, ridiculous levels) user, I got a full day out of the battery even on my heaviest of usage days when the phone was either screen on, or on my ear. On an average use day, I was getting to bed with around 20% – 25% of battery remaining which is a great outcome for taking the thing off charge at 5:50 in the morning and rarely going to bed before 11 pm.
What’s really striking is how simple everything is. Something simple for the user has been through countless hours of thought, engineering (hardware and/or software) at massive cost to Apple and it’s presented so simply. This applies to features that have just been introduced, or old features that have evolved.
The camera upgrades
It wouldn’t be a new generation of any phone range, without some really obvious spec upgrades. This year, for the iPhone 16 Pro, that takes the form of some upgraded optics. The most obvious is the upgraded optical zoom from 3 x up to 5 x bringing that capability into line with a lot of other manufacturers.
The night mode is now good enough to be considered a competitor to Google’s Night Sight. There are a few differences in the final image with colour reproduction and the light correction, but they’re both producing images better than you could hope to see with the naked eye.
One of the changes to the camera operation this time around is the camera button. Very useful, very cleverly designed; but missed the mark for placement by a few millimetres – at least in my opinion. The position is slightly to far to the left (when looking at the screen) and caused me to inadvertently tap the screen with my thumb on many occasions. But my daughter — who has much smaller hands — thinks it’s brilliant, so perhaps it’s just a me problem?
Whether you use the button or not, you’ll get impressive results from the camera. The optics produce a really high-quality image, with very good colour reproduction consistently and in pretty much all lighting conditions.
There were a few issues…
There could be any number of reasons for this, but I did strike a few issues along the way. Probably the most concerning for me in terms of the device longevity, is just how hot it gets when you’re running wireless charging. NB. Wired charging isn’t an issue and it’s faster! It was warm enough that it was uncomfortably warm if you took the phone straight off the charger and dropped it in your pocket.
Camera control button is an excellent idea, but it’s as well executed as I perhaps hoped when I first heard about it. The basics are that you can trigger the camera to open, use the zoom and take a picture with it very easily. But the issue I had was that the zoom either wasn’t responsive to my input, or, at times it was too responsive, and the zoom happened way too fast for me. With practice, I got better with that muscle memory that’s needed to deal with new phones and features, but it just felt like there was a bit too much included for a first round feature addition.
The other issue I had was that the Bluetooth dropped out a few times. Normally I wouldn’t care too much about that but the dropouts were when I was either listening to something on headphones, or on calls: Both pretty annoying times for a dropout.
Final thoughts: Would I buy one?
The simple answer is yes, and no…
While the features and capabilities across the device make it a really attractive device for a two, perhaps three year investment, the starting price of $1,799.00 for one with not enough storage negates a chunk of that attraction. If all of the storage options were $200 cheaper, I’d find this — financially at least — a lot more attractive.
With that said, it’s very difficult to find fault with what Apple has delivered this time around.
While the iPhone 16 Pro may represent an incremental upgrade rather than a revolutionary leap, the sum of its refinements culminates in a noticeably enhanced user experience. With its impressive battery life that comfortably lasts through a demanding day, a camera system that produces stunningly accurate and vibrant photos, and thoughtful new features like the redesigned action button, this iteration is a testament to Apple’s commitment to perfecting the familiar.
Although the premium price point remains a consideration, the device’s ability to retain value, coupled with its polished performance and the seamless integration Apple is known for, makes the iPhone 16 Pro a compelling choice for buyers wanting a refined and reliable top-tier smartphone experience, especially for users already invested in the Apple ecosystem. It’s a device that, despite its seemingly modest advancements, is difficult to fault and is a genuine pleasure to use.
