Do I regret buying the iPhone 16 Pro? 😬

This is an iPhone 16 Pro that I spent my own money on. Shocking, I know. But using it over the past 2 months has convinced me that, as great as it is, this probably will never be enough smartphone for me.

But let's not get too ahead of ourselves here. First, a bit of backstory: I'm a longtime Android user, and was pretty much until around 12 months ago, when my main SIM went into a 15 Pro Max and stayed there for most of the past year. I went Pro Max in '23 for the 5X zoom camera. But this time around the big camera's also in the smaller Pro --- hence my choice of what's always seemed like the "correct" size for this design of iPhone.

0:00 Intro
0:38 Like: The size
1:47 Design / Colors: A mixed bag
3:15 Like: iOS & Ecosystem
5:01 Meh: Apple Intelligence
7:14 Like: Performance
8:19 Cameras: Another mixed bag
10:37 Closing Thoughts
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[fups]

I switched from S23 Ultra to 16 Pro Max -- my first iPhone since the XR. I miss my custom high DPI, split screen, video player controls, volume mixer, 10x zoom, fingerprint sensor, file system, revanced. The 16PM has weak haptics, but most apps feel smoother on IOS, the battery is better, it feels more cohesive, and I'm also really impressed with the Apple Watch. They are both great choices, honestly wish I could run the same sim in both phones.

[jamest]

I tried the 16 pro at launch, returned it and then got a Pixel 9 Pro until I returned that after a week of poor battery life. I really enjoyed the pixel design and camera and my issue was apps running in the background even though I turned them off or disabled them. Camera and battery life are why I am upgrading from the 13 pro and after playing with my wife's 16 pro alittle more I will upgrade back to it this week.

[KingKpop]

I just kept my 15 Pro. Still has 100% battery cap on it and I still get Apple Intelligence. Easy W.

[YA-ffxe]

I returned the 16 pro as the battery was terrible. Got the 16 pro max. Charged to 100% at 9am, its now 11pm and I have 59% battery.

[karlfran]

The biggest issue I have with the new phones is the constant shifting of iOS to Android. The new “features” have most been a kitchen sink of customisation and fiddly new things that Android users love and old time iPhone users have not needed or wanted. I now don’t see much difference between the two OS. iOS has slightly better integration across devices and with cloud, Android has slightly more customisation. I still prefer iOS but the recent changes are making iOS less what I want not more.

[Treborray]

The battery life of the 16 pro did it for me. It last me the entire time ima way from home each work day.

[Conannnnn]

As a current pixel 9 pro user who will return the phone next month all I can say is I'll be going back to the iPhone. Solid phone pixel 9 but not for me unfortunately

[chrisparmer]

Regrets, not at all. I am very familiar with Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra as well as iPhone 16 Pro.

Battery life has been great. I usually easily get an all-day battery life with moderate use. Usually, battery life is not a problem. I do see a little more battery drain with heavy usage. I believe that will be more of the norm than the exception with the continued rollout of Apple Intelligence. If that is the case, I will keep a charger close at hand.

Performance has been smooth and snappy, no complaints so far. Apple Intelligence does seem to be a gimmick. Not sure that any of the AI of either platform is really that useful.

I find the seemless integration of Apple to all of its accessories; Apple watch, AirPods and MacBook to be so much better for me. The Apple ecosystem is hard to beat.

[zameer]

Using S24 ultra from last 2 months, faced 3 major issues.
Motion photos are blurry.
Have 4 years old daughter and capturing her is big problem.
The Size and edges on the phone holding for longer time is pain and feel big. Can’t hold for longer time.
Even little bit of less light means low light photos the photos will have some noise and less quality. Other than that I can agree best of best phone, especially anti reflective screen is dream of using such a display.

[jdg]

Kept my 15 Pro. Wanted the slightly better battery life of the 16 pro and all the AI features. After fiddling with my sister’s 16 pro, just wasn’t worth it for me. The new camera button was extremely annoying. Everything else felt exactly the same as my 15 pro. Battery life wasn’t all that much better either. Easy pass this year. Did get the watch 10. Very impressed.

[kjvasquez]

I bought the iPhone 16 Ultramarine for personal use while keeping my S23U for work. No regrets so far, great phone and I can completely disconnect from work on weekends and nights

[mattpacker]

I bet this spring, apple will refresh the pro with a new colour. the black this year looks lovely, I do actually think the Pro colours are usually rather boring...the Sierra blue, refreshed green 13 pro were good, the newer desert titanium is my favourite pro colour. its like a slight nice pink tone to it. its nicer than gold and the nicest pro colour yet!

[madmann]

My wife upgraded to the 16PM and I'm still using my 15PM. For me I can't personally see anything in terms of performance that would make me want to upgrade. The camera button, for me at least is awkward to use and has weird/too low placement. Personally I will wait till next cycle.

[d_techterminal]

I bought 16 pro max and used it for a week before it was stolen from metro. But I agree to all of your points. Video is great but for photos, Pixel and Samsung are much more consistent. I've had Pixel 6 Pro -> S23 Ultra in the past

[conalhendry]

Former pixel 8 Pro user here, watched and typing on my new 16 pro max, which I like, a lot!

[habiboullahbilal]

I watched your review of Honor Magic 6 Pro, and I purchased it. It's one of the best smartphones that I've ever used. By the way I ditched my Iphone 15 Pro for that Honor Magic 6 Pro 😊

[optimalbonkerz]

I switched to the iPhone 16 pro after being a life long android user and when I started telling me friend about how it has fast charging now and widgets I stopped to laugh and thank my self I wasn’t an super big apple fan because it would be hard to justify why iPhone is good comparing features from android when android had most the features for 10 plus years.

[Railkers]

I am honestly really interested how the S25 with the 8 elite will pair against the 16, its going to be an insane comparison (I am not one of those people who are like "wait for the s25 and then see") I just want a fair and cool comparison since the S24 is like 8 months older.

[Vondon_]

Got mine last week and i love it frfr. Came from a 12

[zaydkhan]

I was using iPhone 13 and wanted to upgrade, s24 ultra was the option that i was looking for, fortunately my friend had bought a new one and i tested it, everytime i took a pic in that phone i felt it had a tad bit exposure on pics, the skin tone felt a bit off, the dark green leaves were lighter when the pic was captured, it felt just too much processing. So i went ahead and bought the 16 pro max, tested the cameras on it and its everything that i expect from the phone. Though the only differences i felt from 13 and 16 are 120hz screen, longer battery and better cameras, apart from that it was nothing new. Compared to 24 ultra, i prefer pics from 16 pro max, just the sole reason that every pic is crisp, not processed, the skin tones are better and real.
The cameras and the battery are the only reason i switched, i didn't really care about other features. And yes, i don't think i could ever leave face id and go to a finger print sensor..