Yesterday apple announced the brand new iPhone 16 the 16 pro and the 16 pro Max these new phones represent the evolution of the iPhone line and the introduction of Apple’s AI product apple intelligence. Although the show went as expected in a pre-recorded keynote that outline why you should be clamoring to your nearest apple store, the truth is that you probably don’t need a new phone period.
What Was Announced
For those of you keeping score at home Apple introduced their brand-new iPhone line with the new iPhones regular coming in three new colors including ultramarine teal and pink all of which are powered by the new A18 chip, expected upgrades to their cameras, and a new “action button” that allows you to access and control your camera quickly.
Similarly, the Pro line including the Pro Max got incremental upgrades which include the upgraded A18 Pro chip, improvements to the cameras, the camera control button, and an upgraded microphone array that make some of the software changes possible. OH yeah, they also have two new colors a black titanium and what Apple calls “desert titanium”.
A big portion of the keynote centered around Apple’s Apple Intelligence AI features. A good portion of the keynote walked us through the different applications that Apple Intelligence will be able to integrate with. From being able to run visual searches through your camera to improved e-mail and message writing and yes, even some computational photography improvements it seems like Apple’s big change is not shaking up the world with AI but a minor quality of life improvement for your day-to-day task. Don’t get me wrong I think this is where I should be going but at the same time, I don’t feel compelled to buy a new $1300 device to enjoy it.
Summing it all up
So, what does this mean for you? Well, if you have an iPhone that’s two to three years old there’s very little reason to upgrade. If you have an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 and you’ve been taking pictures, making videos, sharing with friends, and didn’t honestly feel that your pictures were not adequate, then you probably don’t need an upgrade. Likewise, the Pro line does offer some potential for high-end creative work, but the truth is very few people, professional or otherwise, will be going to their phone as their only creative tool.
Every year we cover Apple’s iPhone and find myself questioning, “is this worth $1000?” By and large, we’ve been spoiled with extremely capable high-end computing devices that fit in our pockets. These devices can do everything from helping us send emails, browse the Internet, and even make a movie, but more and more the device you own today can probably do the same thing that an upgrade would. If you’re looking to buy a brand-new iPhone, no judgment. Buy it because you wanna buy it; buy it because the one in your pocket is on its last legs. But know, you probably don’t need to buy a new phone.
Check out the full event if you missed it on Apple’s site.