Originally published at: iPhone 16 Models Add Camera Control, Prep for Apple Intelligence - TidBITS
At its Glowtime event, Apple unveiled its latest crop of iPhones, with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus gaining the new Camera Control, along with the Action button from last year’s Pro models. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max boast larger screens, better cameras, and faster performance.
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I have no urge to update my 15. I’m definitely in the non-Pro camp because even the regular 15 is already too big and too heavy IMHO (the mini hit the spot for me). And since I’m neither a professional photographer nor a picture taking addict, I fail to see any other benefit from spending an extra $200 over what is already a hella expensive phone. That said, I’m sure the current 16 will be a nice upgrade for anybody coming from a 12 or older.
The great stuff: extra battery life & new colors.
The not so great stuff: the added weight on the Pros is a bummer. Now, in spite of Ti over SS, they’re back to the brick weight of the 14 Pros.
The whole event today IMHO was kind of a snooze fest. These pre-fabricated canned videos in fake Bay Area surroundings have more than run their course in my book. But more to the point, when Apple touts a new button as being a major “feature” after their last new button already failed to find any really novel use, you have to wonder what the heck they’re thinking over there. Do they really have such trouble seeing where actual improvement opportunities lie? I’d rattle down 6 off the top of my head right here and I’m sure the rest of the crowd on this board would have at least a dozen more. There’s a sense of entitled complacency over at HQ that is getting harder to ignore.
Finally, on a somewhat related note, sticking with USB2 for wired data transfer on the 16 is an outright insult. It’s one giant **** finger to all those who spend $800 on an iPhone over the plethora of cheaper Androids out there. The irony with this iPhone 16 is that 16 is exactly the number of years since the USB3 standard was introduced, a standard Apple still cannot see itself able to adopt without charging $1k on a phone. Apparently, it’s hard being that courageous.
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My iPhone 12 is working just fine so no valid reason to replace it. However, I still have a Series 5 watch that is also working just fine but wonder if the iPhone 16 would still work with it.
I have a 14 Pro, nothing really compelling here. Like with my Series 6 watch I think I’ll just wait another year to upgrade my phone.
The one thing I’d like to see is the expansion of satellite messaging. If getting that in Australia required a new phone I’d buy one (but I very much doubt a new phone is the reason it’s not here)
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Except for a couple of exceptions, I’ve been an “upgrade every four years” person. I currently have a 13 Pro and it works fine and I like it a lot. So I’m waiting for the iPhone 17 Pro to come out - barring something revolutionary.
I read this at another site, which I thought was amusing:
“For example, you can do visual Google searches from photos you’ve taken, so if you’re not sure of a dog’s breed, just snap a shot and ask Google. (You can also just ask the dog’s owner.)
There’s also detailed text searching for photos and videos in your library. If you want every photo on your phone of your dog sleeping on the futon, Apple Intelligence can theoretically pull those up for you.”
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I am also do not like to update my iPhone too often, but as a photographer who appreciates my iPhone 15 Pro, I really love the new Camera Control in a simple slider/button. Can’t wait to see it evolve and what it is by the time I phone-refresh.
But I hope they don’t see this as a chance to add even more buttons and controls, I think with this addition, they are maxed for each side of the phone.
Don’t need Google for that. iOS, iPadOS and macOS all have Visual Lookup:
The macOS article is about Photos, but Visual Lookup also works in Preview and in Quick Look. And in iOS it works in the Files app.
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True. I have used that to identify some plants. It says my dog is a husky though. But to be honest, nobody knows what he is.
I’m definitely in the upgrade zone with my 11 pro. The 1500 for the 512 Pro and 220 AppleCare price are giving me pause.
Pro photographers do use their iPhones, I used one in a book last year alongside my Fuji GFX images. It was simply the camera I had with me. But that doesn’t mean we like to. The internal Apple processing of the images are at once both impressive and overworked, it’s still a tiny lens and sensor. But it’s the camera we have with us, my GFX barely fits in a bag let alone a pocket.
There’s a lot of premium compact cameras that you can slip into a pocket with real glass and large sensors that cost less than the Pro, take better pictures too. What’s most impressive about the Pro over them is the “image pipeline” as Apple define it, all of the sensors, lidar, GPS, computing power, facial recognition, HDR, the full gamut of image processing, color optimisation, frame selection etc. all of that. It’s very consistent and impressive, useful in short. That combined with the immediacy of having it with you, when a moment occurs. So it’s partially our habits which define its worth.
But generally pros use the Pro for pro work only when they have to.
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It’s a no from me. I am very happy with my 15 Pro, and these new features don’t seem very compelling to me. Also I don’t welcome the increase in size and weight of the 16 Pro, however slight.
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When it comes to the iPhone, I am still rocking an older model (11 Pro Max), fully up-to-date on the OS. Original battery life is at 84%, which I believe is very good for the age of this phone. Overall, I am becoming less enamored with having everything in an all-in-one device. I am back listening to music on an iPod Classic (gasp!) and using a dedicated camera for taking photos. I am not alone in this camp. My primary concern right now is exactly how bad the Photos app is on both the iPhone and the Mac. I store my Olympus camera photos on both devices and the synching between iPhone and Mac is really horrible. I get not only duplicates, but now triplicates and more of my photos. This has been going on for some time - and even though there is a duplicate removal feature on the Mac, it does not do what it should. With thousands of photos stored, doing this duplicate removal manually is pretty much out of the question. The funny thing is, Google Photos (which I use for backup) is smart enough to not duplicate anything synched to it!! No matter if Photos is “totally redesigned” on the new iPhone 16, it also needs to be redone on the Mac as well.
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I plan to keep my iPhone 13 Pro Max. It does what I want it to do just fine. The Apple Intelligence doesn’t appeal to me. I use ChatGPT Plus all the time, and I’m happy with that.
I upgraded last year to an iPhone 15 Pro mostly for the “Always On” feature, thinking I’d be able to see time and widgets from across the room. To my chagrin, “Always On” isnt always on—either in upright or Stand By mode—apparently to save battery life (what, I ask you, is the point of having longer battery life if you can’t use it?).
So if anyone is contemplating upgrading to iPhone 16 Pro for “Always On”—Don’t.
The new iPhones look great, especially the base model. Making sure everything could do AI meant that the basic iPhone is really good value for money – upgraded RAM and excellent processor. They gave it both of the new buttons (which look really useful) and (unlike the Pro) actual colors! And good ones! I’m definitely thinking about trading in my 13 Pro for a base iPhone. I’m not a good enough photographer to take advantage of the better cameras, and that’s the main difference.
Probably the purple one, though the pink is nice as well.
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I’ve been wanting a dedicated camera button for years that controlled the app not just a shutter button. This is brilliant. That alone might get me to upgrade (I’m using a 13 Pro now) But I think I need to replace my iPad Pro soon. Can’t do both this year.
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I’ll go for an upgrade to a Pro Max. I have a 13 Pro Max which is exceptional, but I get that technology update itch that needs to be scratched every 3-4 years. It’s a great time to be a nerd.
- Been doing a lot of research using AI models so I’m Apple Intelligent-curious.
- Camera seems amazing.
- Larger screen? Gimme, gimme, gimme…
My Watch Series 5 and AirPod Pro won’t need to be replaced for quite some time.
My favorite lines that I always poke fun at are the, “This is the best camera we have ever put into a phone.”
I think the marketing team knows that many people will hear, “This is the best camera ever on a phone.”
Of course, replace “camera” with each product.
I’m considering between the 16 and the 16 Pro. One of the reasons I’d be willing to pay more would be the 5x zoom. But I’m curious about the real-life difference - if I’m taking a snapshot of a bird in a tree, say 50’ away, would the photo from a 16 Pro truly be very much better than a 16? (In the dark ages, a good lens at 5x would be far better than a good lens at 3x for this, but with digital wizardry I’m not sure that still really holds true.)
The new camera button appears positioned where the SIM slot used to be. I will need to change how I take pictures to use it.
A fair percentage of photos I initially shot on an iPhone showed my finger partially covering the lens. Rather than changing my hold on the phone, I made sure that I shot pictures with the camera in the lower right corner rather than the upper left. Of course, the software was smart enough to orient the images properly. However, I think it would be difficult to use the camera control properly if it’s on the bottom of the phone when I shoot. So, to use the new button, I’ll finally need to be more careful in how I hold the phone.
Last spring I was at the Paris Zoo and I couldn’t believe how good the 5x zoom pictures were with my 15 Pro Max. Like at most zoos the animals were far away and you can barely see them, but with the 5x from 50 feet I can see the eyelashes on a zebra!
I don’t know how these will convert upon uploading, but here are three photos of the same zebra at different zoom levels (1x, 5x, and max). There’s obviously some digital zoom on the max one, but the detail is still incredible.
Far:
Medium:
Max:
I came away wildly impressed. Obviously the zoom doesn’t replace a DLSR with a real zoom lens, but for a pocket camera I carry everywhere, wow.
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