iPhone 16 Pro three months later: The final verdict is mixed

15 hours ago 1

Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro launched just over three months ago. I’ve used the device daily ever since, and there’s a lot to love about it—but it’s not all good news. Here’s how the latest flagship iPhone has fared for me three months in.

Setting the iPhone upgrade context

Before diving into all the good things about Apple’s latest iPhone, and its drawbacks, you should know two things:

I buy the new iPhone every year, so my impressions are shaped by comparing the 16 Pro to last year’s 15 Pro.
If you aren’t upgrading from an iPhone 15 Pro, you’ll have way more new features to love about the 16 Pro than I did.

Taken as a standalone device, there’s much more that could be written about the iPhone 16 Pro. But for me, I can’t help but compare it to last year’s iPhone.

All the good things

iPhone 16 Pro has pleasantly surprised me in a variety of ways. Some of its best features were things I expected to love, but others flew under the radar and have made a bigger impact than I ever thought.

Here are all the positive features that stand out most about my iPhone 16 Pro:

Better battery life: Apple really undersold the battery life upgrades with the 16 Pro. This is the first time I haven’t had to worry about battery at all, even on travel days. That’s a game changer.
5x telephoto lens: I kind of hate to write this, because next year’s iPhone 17 Air will drop the telephoto lens. But getting 5x on my iPhone 16 Pro (I’m not a Pro Max guy) has been really great. I’ve captured lots of moments with the 5x lens that I never could before.
1 nit minimum brightness: My sleeper hit of the year is the iPhone’s new 1 nit minimum brightness. Any time I use my iPhone in bed with my wife or baby son nearby, I’m thankful for this feature. In those moments, the darker my iPhone screen can go, the better.
Camera Control after iOS 18.2: I quickly learned that the flagship Camera Control feature was not ideal for portrait photos, only landscape ones. So I turned off most of its functionality. But iOS 18.2 brought key changes that have made me really appreciate the new button as a fast Camera launcher and AI tool.
Improved thermals: iPhone 15 Pro famously got overheated far too easily, and I’m happy to report that my 16 Pro has been so much better on that front. Only once have I been unable to capture a photo due to the phone running too hot—something that happened often on my 15 Pro.

Taking the list above into consideration, this was a pretty solid year for iPhone improvements. But unfortunately, the whole experience hasn’t been positive.

Drawbacks and disappointments

Apple made some changes to the iPhone 16 Pro that have, for me at least, felt like regressions. Or in some cases, new features that should have made a bigger difference just haven’t.

Here are my 16 Pro drawbacks and disappointments:

Bigger with no benefit: iPhone 16 Pro is both taller and wider than the 15 Pro, sporting a 6.3-inch display compared to last year’s 6.1-inch model. For some users, this has been a great change. For me, I haven’t had a single moment when I found the larger size worthwhile. I can still use the 16 Pro comfortably with one hand, but it’s bulkier than before, and with no apparent benefit. I wish I had my 15 Pro’s size back.
Weighs more: On that note, the 16 Pro weighs more too. It’s unfortunate because last year’s 15 Pro brought a big weight reduction that felt great, and Apple gave up some of that ground just a year later.
Macro mode disappoints: This year’s Ultrawide lens got a big 48MP upgrade that I thought would solve my macro mode problem. While I’ve noticed some minor improvements, more often than not I’ve still been deactivating macro mode. The main camera consistently produces better photos, even if it can’t get quite as close.
A18 Pro vs. A17 Pro: Finally, I expected that the A18 Pro chip might feel noticeably more powerful than last year’s A17 Pro, especially with Apple Intelligence tasks. While I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison, I haven’t seen much difference in my testing. Maybe future AI features will change that.