I was perfectly satisfied with the performance of my iPhone 12 Pro, but it appeared that its battery was starting to fail. Apple would replace its battery for ~$100, but I’m so dependent on it that I wouldn’t want to be without it for several days.

I ordered the 16 Pro from T-Mobile. It’s back ordered, so some time before I receive it.

Its camera has impressive specs. They claim an optical zoom. We’ll see:

https://www.apple.com/iphone-16-pro/specs/

Since I'm cheap I just upgraded from an 8 to a 15. Wow, what a difference.

I can imagine the 16 would be even better.

I read that iPhone 16 sales are way off from the projected numbers and think it's a combination of people holding onto devices longer with inflation squeezing us all and the fact that each new generation of iPhone now is barely better than the previous one, the only changes are a better processor and better camera.

I had an iPhone 12 Pro Max that was going on nearly 4 years old and I decided to get a 15 Pro Max once the 16 was put on sale as that always causes price drops. I really don't feel that there is much of a difference between the 12 and the 15 to be honest other than more storage and a better camera. That's it along with it being USB-C now which I still think the Lightning was superior in many ways and don't like how they were forced into that.

Reading the list of "stuff" inside it. It's amazing the amount of tech they can squeeze into a item the size of a phone. Purely amazing...

You should have a 3x optical zoom on the Pro and a 5x on the Pro Max. After that, you're on digital zoom.

I might do an upgrade later from my 15 Pro to a 16 Pro Max for the larger screen, but I'm in no hurry. I got my USB 3.1 port so moving movies and music doesn't take forever any more.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I read that iPhone 16 sales are way off from the projected numbers and think it's a combination of people holding onto devices longer with inflation squeezing us all and the fact that each new generation of iPhone now is barely better than the previous one, the only changes are a better processor and better camera.
<snip>

I know nothing about “iPhone 16 sales are way off from the projected numbers”. I do know that there’s a significant order backlog. It’ll be a while before mine arrives. I ordered it last Friday, September 27.

Some info about the three cameras of the iPhone 16 Pro:

48MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture

48MP Fusion: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture

12MP 5x Telephoto: 120 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture
5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out
(120 mm / 5 = 24 mm, 120 mm x 2 = 240 mm)

That’s a big advance from my iPhone 12 Pro cameras. It renders my once-valued Sony RX10 mirrorless camera to obsolete junk. Not to mention that my iPhone is nearly always with me whereas the Sony seldom is.

As for processors:
* A18 Pro chip
* New 6‑core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
* New 6‑core GPU
* New 16‑core Neural Engine
Also a big advance from my iPhone 12 Pro, and said to provide better battery life.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,

iPhone 15s also have an optical zoom. All have 2x but the pros have 3-5x I think.

Makes for amazing zoomed pictures, relative to other phone cameras.

As for usb-c vs Lightning, I see absolutely zero areas where lightning is better except that you may have already owned it. USB-c is faster charging (delivers 3A and up to 5A vs only 2.4A) and faster data transfer (40Gb vs 480Mb.) it’s no contest.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
Reading the list of "stuff" inside it. It's amazing the amount of tech they can squeeze into a item the size of a phone. Purely amazing...

My thoughts exactly. Seeing 1 TB of storage in a phone is wild.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
iPhone 15s also have an optical zoom. All have 2x but the pros have 3-5x I think.

Makes for amazing zoomed pictures, relative to other phone cameras.

As for usb-c vs Lightning, I see absolutely zero areas where lightning is better except that you may have already owned it. USB-c is faster charging (delivers 3A and up to 5A vs only 2.4A) and faster data transfer (40Gb vs 480Mb.) it’s no contest.

I guess I wasn’t clear enough here. I’m not liking what feels like a more fragile connection. Lightning is a post that fits into a hole, and it snaps in with a nice positive feel.

USB-C is a post with a hole that needs to fit into a hole that also has a center post. The connection feels more fragile and every cable I have seems to fit with what feels and sounds like a disconcerting “crunch”.

I was just looking at these yesterday, I think mine is a 12 Pro Max and will probably upgrade next year depending on the trade in deals. I got mine for a great deal though, it was $13/month. I found that financing them like this, essentially renting them, was better than paying outright for them which is what I used to do. I think it was 24 or 30 months at $13/month.

Getting the battery swapped shouldn’t take days. Apple Store or authorized repair shop should get it done in minutes to a few hours depending on how busy.

Still rocking my iPhone 11 Pro. I remember them gushing about all the things my 11 pro could do, like how it takes such good pics in the dark. Well, it does just fine taking pics of price tags at Home Depot and posting on SF while I’m on the can, so I think I’m good.

AI you say? Don’t need my phone smarter than me. I think I may have reached peak phone, same as my fashion sense. I’m getting off the train. If you’re still on the train, though, the new phone looks amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

Apple would replace its battery for ~$100, but I’m so dependent on it that I wouldn’t want to be without it for several days.

Per the Apple support web page, eighty-nine bucks (no charge if you have Apple Care +). You can make an appointment for this at an Apple store. Half hour or so to do the job.

Closest Apple store for me is at a mall fifteen minutes from my house. I have dropped the phone off, gone to the food court to grab a snack, and the phone is ready when I get back to the Apple store.

Just FYI, they don't tell you this but if you replace a battery or screen (even if the work is performed by the Apple Store), the water resistance rating is invalidated because opening up your phone breaks the factory applied seal and that doesn't get put back after the fact.

I learned this the hard way after having my Iphone 12 Pro screen replaced and having the phone break down again not a week after, which was when they told me there was water damage (that was not present not a week prior, after 3 years of use) and it's no longer repairable.

Ultimately they refunded my original repair but I was forced to buy a factory replacement altogether.

I have since upgraded to 15 Pro so I'm not in a hurry to get a new phone anytime soon, short of any unforeseen circumstances.

quote:

Seeing 1 TB of storage in a phone is wild.

Meh, My new $59.99 2024 Motorola 5G has the 1tb MMC card I bought for it. The phone it replaced, an earlier Motorola from years back as well, had the very same card in it.

Apple doesn't have removable media, which I consider of great importance. Also, remember that with the larger pixel sizes of our new phones, you'll need a much bigger hard drive as well.

quote:

Originally posted by berto:
Getting the battery swapped shouldn’t take days. Apple Store or authorized repair shop should get it done in minutes to a few hours depending on how busy.

Thanks berto. I’ll remember that for next time. Too late for this go-around.

But I’m really stoked about my soon to arrive iPhone 16 Pro. The awesomeness of its optical zoom to 240 mm (35 mm equivalent) is just beginning to set on.

When I did a lot of 35 mm film photography, my camera bag had the following Pentax items: two bodies (for color transparency and B&W), 28 mm, 55 mm, 105 mm, and 200 mm lenses. I considered myself to be pretty well equipped. Now all that and better in my phone, for goodness sake. Truly amazing.

Its long lens must be an engineering marvel. Electrically powered auto focus, zoom, and image stabilization. In such a thin package. I wonder if a 45° mirror is in its optical path.

I valued this thread. I’ve been considering trading in our iPhone 8Plus phones for some time. I guess I need to get to it soon before they stop supporting them; I think they’re next on the chopping block for support.

quote:

Originally posted by SigFan:
I valued this thread. I’ve been considering trading in our iPhone 8Plus phones for some time. I guess I need to get to it soon before they stop supporting them; I think they’re next on the chopping block for support.

8's are no longer supported on ios 17 nor 18 I'm afraid.

I've been rocking the 16 pro for a few days now. Went from a 13 pro to the 16 pro. Truthfully all I cared about were the cameras and so far they are a solid improvement. Like Pipe Smoker I went from shooting a DSLR to 99% exclusively the phone

I have an iPhone 14, prior to that a 12, before that an X.
Each time bought mostly for better camera.
I have several Olympus OM-D bodies and a pretty complete lens set for it, including the latest 90 mm macro.
But most of the time I don't have that with me.
We have three small grandchildren, and they are growing up fast. We treasure photos and videos of them. I wish my daughter and her husband had iPhones; and wish my son and his wife had the latest iPhones.

Here's a loooooooong review of the iPhone 16 Pro. For some reason, he doesn't even mention the upgraded zoom.

Link