After greater than a month with the iPhone 16 Plus, I’m glad to report the improve from my iPhone 14 Professional was completely worthwhile. There’s just one factor that I remorse, and it’s not what you would possibly assume. I don’t thoughts shedding the 120Hz show or the third zoom digicam of the iPhone Professional. It’s the scale of the Plus that it takes getting used to, contemplating that is the primary time I’ve used an iPhone with a 6.7-inch show.
In the event you’re uncertain which iPhone 16 mannequin to purchase, I’ll go over two issues to attempt earlier than you resolve whether or not you want a brand new Professional or non-Professional iPhone in your life. Actually, simply one among them actually issues, contemplating how highly effective the iPhone is.
The issue with upgrading from a previous-gen iPhone Professional to an iPhone 16 or 16 Plus is that it won’t really feel like an improve. The concern of lacking out will set off, because the Professional fashions pack higher options than the non-Professional.
However going from a previous-gen Professional to an iPhone 16/Plus is a large improve on the subject of specs. You get the A18 chip with 8GB of RAM, a barely improved show that may work at 1 nit minimal brightness, and an improved digicam. Battery life is superb, simply probably the greatest issues in regards to the 2024 iPhones.
When selecting a non-Professional iPhone 16 model, you lose the titanium chassis, the triple-lens digicam on the again, and the 120Hz ProMotion At all times-On show.
The digicam
The iPhone 16 Professional and 16 Professional Max characteristic 12-megapixel tetraprism zoom cameras on the again that assist 5x optical zoom. So what?
The iPhone 14 Professional lacked a periscope digicam and supported a most of 3x optical zoom. I didn’t use zoom that a lot. I can’t say that I missed the 3x choice once I moved to the iPhone 16 Plus.
That is the very first thing it is best to attempt in your iPhone Professional proper now. See how usually you utilize your zoom digicam and why you do it. In the event you take numerous pics at most optical or digital zoom, you would possibly want three cameras out of your iPhone 16. In that case, you’ll need to get an iPhone 16 Professional or 16 Professional Max. Once more, each include that very same tetraprism digicam on the again.
I can even have to notice the opposite perks of the iPhone 16 Professional digicam expertise. You get assist for Evening Mode portraits, one thing I don’t assume I used on the iPhone 14 Professional that a lot. You additionally get assist for Apple ProRaw, Log video recording, ProRes video recording, and a four-mic array. The latter may be helpful when you report loads of video.
The show
If upgrading from a triple-lens setup to a twin digicam shouldn’t be an issue, forsaking the dynamic 120Hz show may be. However guess what? It’s solely doable to do it, and also you won’t see a giant distinction going again to a static 60Hz display screen.
I do know I had no downside switching from the iPhone 14 Professional’s 120Hz display screen to the iPhone 16 Plus’s 60Hz show. I’ll clarify how I did it.
First, I don’t want the At all times-On show. It’s one of many first iOS 16 options I turned off when getting the iPhone 14 Professional almost two years in the past. Disabling the At all times-On performance can even bump the iPhone’s battery life.
Second, I set the dynamic 120Hz refresh charge to a dynamic 60Hz charge and forgot to alter it again. It occurred through the early days of the iPhone 14 Professional. I spotted my mistake a few yr in when trying on the cellphone’s show settings. I additionally discovered that the 60Hz refresh charge didn’t trouble me, so I saved it off. The bonus? Further battery life financial savings on the iPhone 14 Professional.
I do know many iPhone customers will say they will inform the differnce between 120Hz and 60Hz. I largely can’t, and I feel I perceive why.
A few years in the past, Apple launched the parallax impact for system-wide animations. It occurred with iOS 7. It was stunning, however I couldn’t stand it. That’s, the movement made me queasy, so I disabled it from the Accessibility part of the Settings app (search for Scale back Movement within the Movement menu). I haven’t skilled it in additional than a decade.
ProMotion shows will make that animation look lots smoother than 60Hz screens. I believe that downgrading from 120Hz to 60Hz can be apparent when you have the parallax results enabled. Most individuals do. However I’m much less more likely to discover any jittery results as a result of I’ve diminished the depth of movement results.
The 60Hz show shouldn’t be an issue when scrolling content material in apps or having fun with video games. Do not forget that the ProMotion screens shift the refresh charge on their very own from 1Hz to 120Hz (or from 1Hz to 60Hz). They gained’t at all times run on the prime refresh charge as a result of they don’t need to.
If you wish to test-drive a non-Professional iPhone expertise with out truly shopping for a non-Professional machine, attempt turning off the At all times-On show after which setting the refresh charge to 60Hz for a couple of days. You can even disable movement and see how that impacts your expertise.
In the event you can’t stand the 60Hz display screen, keep away from the non-Professional iPhone 16 fashions.
