iPhone 16/Plus AOD and 120Hz refresh rate are not Pro features…

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

AOD and 120 Hz refresh rates are not Pro features. They both should have been included in the IPhone 16/16 Plus models. Apple needs to stop gimping their “lower end” phones. At $800, they both need AOD and 120hz.

Regardless of wether or not you can tell the difference between 60 vs 120 or you don’t use AOD, these are both standard features these days.

Vehicles in Az come with air conditioning. It’s not a “Pro” feature. Leather seats are a ”Pro” feature. 30 years ago, air conditioning was an upgrade. Now, it comes standard.

Apple withholding basic features like these is the kind of thing that is driving me away from Apple products.

Discuss….

But Apple isn’t making iPhones to be fair or offer anyone a great deal.

Apple makes iPhones to generate profits. And meticulously planning out which products get which specs is a cornerstone of its business model.

And no matter how disappointing it is to see Apple, yet again, gimp the non-Pro iPhones, this simply isn’t an issue for Apple as long as the non-Pro iPhones sell well enough.

As terrible as you might think Apple is for doing this, they only get away with it because too many consumers buy the non-Pro iPhones.

Why fix something “broken” if it sells just as well as if you fixed it when fixing it is an extra expense you have to subtract from your profits?

Try as you might to shame them. But I don’t know why they’d care with the profits they’re generating.

 

[Ctrlos]

AOD and 120 Hz refresh rates are not Pro features. They both should have been included in the IPhone 16/16 Plus models. Apple needs to stop gimping their “lower end” phones. At $800, they both need AOD and 120hz.

Regardless of wether or not you can tell the difference between 60 vs 120 or you don’t use AOD, these are both standard features these days.

Vehicles in Az come with air conditioning. It’s not a “Pro” feature. Leather seats are a ”Pro” feature. 30 years ago, air conditioning was an upgrade. Now, it comes standard.

Apple withholding basic features like these is the kind of thing that is driving me away from Apple products.

Discuss….

My $350 Nothing 2a has VRR and AOD for $350. Of course the camera isn’t as good but for the price difference I could buy a Sony A6000 and take better photos anyway.

 

[adrianlondon]

The 14 should have AOD, no?

The 14 Pro does, the 14 (and 14+) doesn't.

 

[teohyc]

LOL at people saying which feature is pro and which is not.

Apple will market whatever feature to be pro regardless of whether it is or not just to make money.

Heck, they will even change the name of the feature if they have to, so that people can't compare with Android. ProMotion (120Hz), Apple Pencil hover (decade old tech), Artificial Intelligence vs Apple Intelligence, Liquid Retina (high res), Face ID (face unlock), Camera Control (a button).

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It is quite absurd Apple were able to introduce AOD to an Apple Watch in 2019 but 5 years on they can't put it on an iPhone costing £900 because it's considered a Pro feature.

 

[darthbane2k]

Its nonsense..

Features such as recording in spatial, Dolby Vision, multi channel audio and hardware features such as Lidar and even camera control should be reserved for the Pro model. It should be a chunkier phone with a larger battery because it should be designed for pro/semi pro content creation.
The standard iPhone should be the best iPhone Apple can make.. features such as Pro-Motion and AOD benefit the general consumer more than the individual who uses the iPhone (professionally) as a still or movie camera.

 

[fatTribble]

No, I haven’t bought one. Don’t need one. My 15 Pro Max is going strong.

Interesting that you own a Pro but are concerned so much about the non Pro models. Based on your original post I wrongly assumed you owned a non Pro and were disappointed at the lack of features.

 

[johannnn]

Why should they include more expensive components when for example my wife literally can't see the difference between 60hz and 120hz? Since Apple wants to maintain a profit margin, that would just unnecessary raise prices for consumers

 

[GuruZac]

AOD and 120 Hz refresh rates are not Pro features. They both should have been included in the IPhone 16/16 Plus models. Apple needs to stop gimping their “lower end” phones. At $800, they both need AOD and 120hz.

Regardless of wether or not you can tell the difference between 60 vs 120 or you don’t use AOD, these are both standard features these days.

Vehicles in Az come with air conditioning. It’s not a “Pro” feature. Leather seats are a ”Pro” feature. 30 years ago, air conditioning was an upgrade. Now, it comes standard.

Apple withholding basic features like these is the kind of thing that is driving me away from Apple products.

Discuss….

If they did that, very few people would buy a Pro I'm fairly sure. I wouldn’t. The only reason I buy the Pro at this point is ProMotion and AoD. I don’t use my cameras much at all anymore. This year’s launch for the 16 and 16 Plus was much more impressive than for the Pros.

 

[GuruZac]

I think they're terrified that when they bring 120Hz to the base model iPhones their ASP is going to drop significantly, with many more people opting away from the Pro phones. Many people, including myself, consider ProMotion to be the feature that holds them in the Pro line. They need to bring another 'Can't Live Without' feature to the Pro models before they bring ProMotion to the base phones.

It’ll probably be no Dynamic Island, w/ higher end OLED or microLED display or something. That still won’t be enough for me. I’d still do a non-Pro if it had ProMotion and AoD.

 

[bc 08]

I'd swap the camera control button for 120hz on the non pro iPhones, but then no one would buy the pros because camera control is a gimmick.

I think the camera control's real purpose is for visual intelligence

 

[Jamie0003]

features such as Pro-Motion and AOD benefit the general consumer more than the individual who uses the iPhone (professionally) as a still or movie camera.

Erm….not really, give an example of why the general consumer would even notice, let alone care? Most people can’t even tell the difference with promotion, all it does is make animations on the phone a little smoother. That’s it

 

[4sallypat]

The 14 should have AOD, no?

14 and 14+ no - does not have AOD.

14 Pro and 14 PM yes - has AOD.

 

[julesme]

Its nonsense..

Features such as recording in spatial, Dolby Vision, multi channel audio and hardware features such as Lidar and even camera control should be reserved for the Pro model. It should be a chunkier phone with a larger battery because it should be designed for pro/semi pro content creation.
The standard iPhone should be the best iPhone Apple can make.. features such as Pro-Motion and AOD benefit the general consumer more than the individual who uses the iPhone (professionally) as a still or movie camera.

The mistake you‘re making is assuming that ”Pro” means that it’s for content professionals. Pro (in Apple’s lineup) just designates that it’s a more premium / expensive device.

More broadly, I agree with you that the name “Pro” is nonsense. It should be called something else.

 

[adrianlondon]

More broadly, I agree with you that the name “Pro” is nonsense. It should be called something else.

Posh?

"Next year we are launching the iPhone 17, the all-new iPhone 17 Bendy and the iPhone 17 Posh and Posh Max".

 

[Isengardtom]

"pro" is nothing but a marketing term

 

[stocklen]

AOD and 120 Hz refresh rates are not Pro features. They both should have been included in the IPhone 16/16 Plus models. Apple needs to stop gimping their “lower end” phones. At $800, they both need AOD and 120hz.

Regardless of wether or not you can tell the difference between 60 vs 120 or you don’t use AOD, these are both standard features these days.

Vehicles in Az come with air conditioning. It’s not a “Pro” feature. Leather seats are a ”Pro” feature. 30 years ago, air conditioning was an upgrade. Now, it comes standard.

Apple withholding basic features like these is the kind of thing that is driving me away from Apple products.

Discuss….

Yes they are.
At least according to Apple. And Apple makes the phones and markets them under that monicker so that's that.

Arguably, and you may not agree that's fine, AOD and 120Hz displays are things that most users couldn't care less about or even notice. To keep costs down and make a phone for the masses Apple choose to make them part of the more expensive pro line.
Its mostly noisy YouTubers that jump up and down insisting that Apple makes 120hz and AOD standard across all the models.

Yes, there may be other phones out that that come 'as standard' with AOD and 120hz but that doesn't mean that Apple are forced to choose to make them features of the base level phone.

As many things, pro stuff trickles down to the non pros but for a while and possibly for a while longer AOD and 120Hz remains pro for Apple. Be patient as its happened with many things such as Face ID and the action button.

One thing to remember is that in the current iteration there is very little to separate the pro from the non pro certainly where the processor comes in. Apple need their top tier display tech exclusive to the pro otherwise what else do they have apart from titanium and another camera?

 

[4sallypat]

Yes they are.
At least according to Apple. And Apple makes the phones and markets them under that monicker so that's that.

Arguably, and you may not agree that's fine, AOD and 120Hz displays are things that most users couldn't care less about or even notice. To keep costs down and make a phone for the masses Apple choose to make them part of the more expensive pro line.
Its mostly noisy YouTubers that jump up and down insisting that Apple makes 120hz and AOD standard across all the models.

Yes, there may be other phones out that that come 'as standard' with AOD and 120hz but that doesn't mean that Apple are forced to choose to make them features of the base level phone.

As many things, pro stuff trickles down to the non pros but for a while and possibly for a while longer AOD and 120Hz remains pro for Apple. Be patient as its happened with many things such as Face ID and the action button.

One thing to remember is that in the current iteration there is very little to separate the pro from the non pro certainly where the processor comes in. Apple need their top tier display tech exclusive to the pro otherwise what else do they have apart from titanium and another camera?

^^^ Well stated!

 

[brofkand]

I’m using camera control a lot and taking more pictures because of it. It’s much easier to get certain pictures than having to tap the screen.

You could have just used the volume button, that has worked as a shutter button since the iPhone 4S.

 

[darthbane2k]

Erm….not really, give an example of why the general consumer would even notice, let alone care? Most people can’t even tell the difference with promotion, all it does is make animations on the phone a little smoother. That’s it

The general consumer who spends most of their time zooming and scrolling in social media apps will and can see the difference for sure.

 

[darthbane2k]

The mistake you‘re making is assuming that ”Pro” means that it’s for content professionals. Pro (in Apple’s lineup) just designates that it’s a more premium / expensive device.

More broadly, I agree with you that the name “Pro” is nonsense. It should be called something else.

Thats my main point. 'Pro' should mean something, and with the standard iPhone line, Apple should go back to trying to make the very best consumer iPhone they can (Same applies to iPad). In terms of a budget line, that's where the SE comes in.

 

[RRC]

You don’t become a trillion dollar company by offering the same specs as the top model as you do the cheaper option…

Has worked for them in iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and watches so far, so they have no reason to change strategy - the devices sell out every year.

 

[Jamie0003]

The general consumer who spends most of their time zooming and scrolling in social media apps will and can see the difference for sure.

Got any uh…evidence to back that up? Pretty sure it’s only us nerds who even know what this is

 

[darthbane2k]

Got any uh…evidence to back that up? Pretty sure it’s only us nerds who even know what this is

Doesn't matter if they know what it is, if they have eyes they can most certainly see it.

 

[darthbane2k]

You don’t become a trillion dollar company by offering the same specs as the top model as you do the cheaper option…

Has worked for them in iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and watches so far, so they have no reason to change strategy - the devices sell out every year.

Agreed - but it helps to have product lines that make sense. Right now the iPhone, iPad and to a lesser extent Mac lineups are a complete incoherent mess to Joey Consumer.