iPhone 16 Pro one month later: This one improvement convinced me to upgrade

It’s been about a month since Apple released the iPhone 16 lineup. As an iPhone 15 Pro Max user, I was honestly quite disappointed keeping up with the rumors, as it sounded like Apple had nothing interesting in store other than just larger displays.

However, there was one key upgrade with the iPhone 16 lineup that didn’t necessarily appear in the rumors, and it got me to pull the trigger.

This isn’t the first time this phenomenon has happened to me. Most recently, the iPhone 14 Pro seemed like an extremely boring upgrade, with the notch simply being replaced with a dual punch-hole cutout. However, when Apple actually unveiled the phone, we got Dynamic Island, something far more exciting. It was unique software implementation on top of an otherwise boring hardware change.

As an iPhone 15 Pro Max user, I was pretty happy. We had USB-C, a nice new titanium finish (which contributed to the phone being a lot lighter), the action button, and great battery life. We also got the 5x telephoto camera, which I found a lot more useful than the previous 3x telephoto.

In my head, there was no reason to upgrade phones this year, but my opinions shifted once the phones actually came out.

Why upgrade?

iPhone 16 Pro presented a unique opportunity for me to downsize. The iPhone 16 Pro lineup has larger 6.3″ and 6.9″ displays, compared to the 6.1″ and 6.7″ displays of iPhone 15 Pro. I didn’t really want a larger phone than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so from the start, I knew that the next iPhone I’d get would end up being a smaller one. However, I had concerns about the battery life leading into it.

Smaller iPhones have traditionally had pretty poor battery life. However, iPhone 16 Pro flipped that.

According to a Tom’s Guide battery test, iPhone 16 Pro had around the same battery life as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, both lasting just over 14 hours in their testing.

Obviously, the 16 Pro Max lasts even longer, with around 18 hours in their test. But, the fact that I wouldn’t be downgrading in terms of battery life from my 15 Pro Max really made it appealing. Plus, I’ve always wanted a smaller phone, but as mentioned earlier, I never wanted to take a hit in battery life.

Other reasons

Another key upgrade with the iPhone 16 Pro is the fact that the smaller model gains the 5x telephoto camera, which was previously exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This meant that I wouldn’t be compromising on either camera or battery life by going with the smaller phone. The camera upgrade was rumored all year, but the fact that it came to fruition made the decision easier.

And last, Apple Intelligence. Yes, the iPhone 15 Pro and its A17 Pro chipset have support for Apple Intelligence, but the iPhone 15 Pro was plagued with overheating issues. In all honesty, I never really noticed the overheating issues past launch, other than occasionally getting toasty while charging. However, running the iOS 18.1 beta with Apple Intelligence changed that.

I noticed that my iPhone 15 Pro Max was running noticeably hotter than my iPhone 16 Pro, both running the same iOS 18.1 beta 4 at the time. Initially I just blamed the beta for my 15 Pro Max being so consistently hot, but once I had the two phones side by side, it became apparent. The A18 Pro chipset and the new thermal system in the iPhone 16 Pro were making a difference.

Now, it’s very possible that was just a temporary issue, and that the iPhone 15 Pro won’t have the same thermal problems running Apple Intelligence when the final version of iOS 18.1 is released. However, that difference was apparent during my testing, and it played into my decision.

Final thoughts

In short, I’ve always wanted a smaller phone, and the iPhone 16 Pro became the perfect opportunity to switch. The 6.3″ form factor is comfortable in my hand while not feeling like a tiny display, and the battery life, for the first time ever in a small pro iPhone, is really good.

For the record though, I’m no longer running the iOS 18.1 beta with Apple Intelligence. For whatever reason, my phone was draining through battery life like crazy, and I often needed to recharge it multiple times a day. Shortly after iOS 18.0.1 released, I ended up downgrading, which provided similar battery life to my 15 Pro Max.

I’m looking forward to giving Apple Intelligence another spin on my iPhone when the public release is available, likely on October 28th.

As for my thoughts on Camera Control, I actually like the feature. At least on the smaller phone, I don’t find the positioning of the button awkward at all. I’ve set the slider to adjust exposure, which I find quite useful, since it’s easy to adjust in a pinch rather than fiddling with the screen while trying to capture a quick shot.

I’m a bit split on actually pressing down on the button to capture a photo though, and find myself varying between the button and the display depending on the context.

I also quite like the Desert Titanium color. Even though they didn’t call it ‘Gold,’ it’s still my favorite gold iPhone color in years.

The iPhone 16 Pro is otherwise an uneventful phone, but the ability to finally downsize was enough to make it worth it for me.

How do you feel about the iPhone 16 Pro? Let us know in the comments.

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