By Andrew Georgy
Note: Most of these features apply to the iPhone 16 but some are limited to the Plus and Pro.
iPhone 16
For some, it’s the thrill of unboxing and feeling that cold, metallic touch every year. For others, it’s the small things, like a button, that entice them. Or maybe you just can’t handle the fact that your phone is a year old. Whatever attracts you to the yearly, expensive and painful cycle of buying the new iPhone is subjective, but the $1000 you spend yearly isn’t. With multiple features revealed this year, the craze may be back for Apple lovers. But will the iPhone 16 fulfill your needs, or should you be looking for other options?
New colors
To start, numerous new colors were introduced at the latest event (Apple introduces iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus – Apple), with the most prominent and popular being Ultramarine, Teal and Pink. Compared to last year, design changes this year are minor (Apple event recap: iPhone 15, new Apple watch and updated AirPods (cnbc.com)), with the only major difference being the rearrangement of the cameras back to their original vertical design.
For reference, this is the third time the camera layouts have changed in the last five years. In addition, your Action Button space can finally be freed up for something more useful, as an extra camera button on the right side of your phone can now adjust your photo settings and take a picture with a few simple clicks.
New cameras?
Of course, with every new iPhone comes the yearly gimmick of the cameras. This year’s Apple event saw a major improvement compared to last year’s, with multiple new features added to the cameras. You can now take spatial photos (more suited for people with the Apple Vision Pro) and with a new 48-megapixel camera, the photo quality is drastically improving from the previous years.
Additionally, you can change your photographic style before editing a photo, a feature similar to the artificial intelligence (AI) feature on the Google Pixel (Google AI powers many of Pixel’s helpful features – Google Store).
New features
Other small features were left out by most major creators covering the event, but a few will be useful to the everyday user. For example, most people charge iPhones with 20W of power, but you can now charge with up to 45W if you use wired USB-C charging. Moreover, phones now have improved ceramic coating to help reassure users who are fearful of the phone’s fragility.
But the substantial difference I’ve seen people sleep on is the new A18 chip. Not only is it 40% more powerful on average compared to the older generations (see link attached here Apple Events – Apple), but it also helps preserve battery life and gives you 2 more hours of video playback time compared to the iPhone 15.
Apple AI intro
Yet the main point that allowed Apple to get away with relatively little changes was the introduction of Apple AI and IOS 18, with long-awaited renovations to Siri being the main focus. Now, when you call Siri, if you stumble over a few of your words, it should be able to give you a normal response instead of asking, “I didn’t get that” repeatedly. On top of that, Siri can help personalize your phone and give you step-by-step guides on how to change something in your phone.
In addition, Apple AI can now help you personalize your phone by letting you create your own Genmojis, which is like your Memoji but for texting. When editing a picture, you can now remove background objects, and when creating one, Apple AI should be able to generate a hyper-realistic image that tailors to your needs. Furthermore, Apple AI can help your productivity immensely, whether transcribing a summary of a voice recording, proofreading and editing your text, showing you priority messages in your inbox or sending a scheduled message to a friend on their birthday because you know you’ll forget.
Should you buy the iPhone 16?
So, with all these new features, is it worth it to pre-order the brand-new, shiny iPhone 16?
The verdict: absolutely not!
You are spending $799 (without Applecare) of your hard-earned (or your parent’s hard-earned) money on what should be an investment that will improve your life drastically for that price tag. Does the iPhone 16 do that? No! It doesn’t even come close.
For example, unless you’re trying to run PC-level games on your phone, an iPhone 13 will suit you well if you’re on the lookout (I would know; it’s been brilliant for me over these last few years). The camera quality isn’t a major difference compared to older models up to four years ago. The capture button is another unneeded action button dedicated to photos.
Finally, the most touted thing about the iPhone is its AI and it’s in a beta stage, which means it will malfunction, need updates and require someone who works in the tech industry to fully utilize its capabilities. And if you’re worried about being left out of the trend, don’t worry; most people are either switching or staying with their old phones.
An anonymous survey for FVHS students conducted by Baron Banner shows that 31% of people will not be buying the iPhone 16, 17.2% will probably not buy it and 27.6% are still undecided.
Suppose you are looking to buy a phone. In that case, you’re better off purchasing a Nothing phone (see here: Nothing Phone (2) – Nothing United States – Nothing US), which is almost fully customizable for $200-300 less with many of the same features and connectivity options that Apple offers. Or, if you’re desperate for another iPhone, wait for the iPhone 17; it’s rumored to be Apple’s biggest change yet.
