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iPhone 15/Plus At the same price, am I crazy for choosing 15 over 16E?

Doing what you feel like doing?
HOW DARE YOU!?
On a more serious note, I would also choose the basic 15 over a 16E, even owning a 14 Pro Max like I do. Tbh when the time to upgrade comes I will give a serious thought to choosing a basic phone with more storage over any Pro
 
Confusion in the thread caused by the way the original question was posed!

DTphonehome said:
Am I crazy for choosing the 15 over the 16E?
Click to expand...

From the rest of the post, it appears no purchase had been made.

Many people read it as “Am I crazy for having *chosen* the 15?” when, based on other remarks, the OP appeared to be asking:

“*Would* I be crazy *IF* I chose the 15?”!

OP, care to clarify? It would save you from the criticism that you are seeking confirmation rather than input for a decision.

Finally, I agree strongly with those who said the daughter should be the one making the decision, not the parent.

Most crucial reason for that— they are the one that's going to have to live with it — not Mom or Dad! In addition, it then becomes their responsibility if the wrong choice is made — not the parent's fault or a source of resentment.

In addition, part of growing up (assuming the daughter is a minor) is learning how to evaluate consumer choices — and separate out wants from needs, and recognize trade-offs. Good learning moment. Parental information and things to consider can be part of the process, but let her make the decision!
 
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Saturn007 said:
Confusion in the thread caused by the way the original question was posed!



From the rest of the post, it appears no purchase had been made.

Many people read it as “Am I crazy for having *chosen* the 15?” when, based on other remarks, the OP appeared to be asking:

“*Would* I be crazy *IF* I chose the 15?”!

OP, care to clarify? It would save you from the criticism that you are seeking confirmation rather than input for a decision.

Finally, I agree strongly with those who said the daughter should be the one making the decision, not the parent.

Most crucial reason for that— they are the one that's going to have to live with it — not Mom or Dad! In addition, it then becomes their responsibility if the wrong choice is made — not the parent's fault or a source of resentment.

In addition, part of growing up (assuming the daughter is a minor) is learning how to evaluate consumer choices — and separate out wants from needs, and recognize trade-offs. Good learning moment. Parental information and things to consider can be part of the process, but let her make the decision!
Click to expand...
I ended up buying the 15. My daughter wants the better cameras, colors, and MagSafe. Doesn’t care about AI.
 
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15 all the way. The 16e is missing too many useful features: ultra wide cam, precision finding, Dynamic Island, MagSafe, bright screen, mmWave antenna and so on.
 
The 16e is perhaps a little more future proof against any improvements in AI they might bring out and will probably get an extra 2 years of OS updates. For some people this might be worth it.

But the 15 has the Dynamic Island, A better main camera, the wide camera, displayport, UWB and Magsafe. Its still got some fight left in it yet.
 
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As a parent of a daughter (who was once a teenager), the answer is obvious: Ask your daughter, or at least ask her to research the question. She'll be all over it. You can even point her to this column. At the least, which one to buy will be her decision. People feel better about making their own decisions, and if she has any later regrets, it will be on her. Truly a learning experience.
 
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One should ask Tim Cook this honestly

Why is Apple even selling new iPhone 15s anymore?

Screenshot 2025-02-27 at 10.05.55.png
 
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turbineseaplane said:
One should ask Tim Cook this honestly

Why is Apple even selling new iPhone 15s anymore?
Click to expand...

Because some people may like the camera setup, more desirable color options, etc. of the 15 over the 16e but don't care enough about (or maybe don't even like) some of the features the 16 has versus the 15 to pay extra for the 16.
 
turbineseaplane said:
One should ask Tim Cook this honestly

Why is Apple even selling new iPhone 15s anymore?
Click to expand...
They always keep the previous gen "regular" options available for an extra year. It gives the perception of choice to consumers and gives carriers the freedom to offer deep deals on older phones.

Truth be told, they offer very similar phones across their entire lineup and only make minimal upgrades each year. We are going on 6 generations of the iphone that most people could barely tell apart...
 
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ayephoner said:
They always keep the previous gen "regular" options available for an extra year. It gives the perception of choice to consumers and gives carriers the freedom to offer deep deals on older phones.

Truth be told, they offer very similar phones across their entire lineup and only make minimal upgrades each year. We are going on 6 generations of the iphone that most people could barely tell apart...
Click to expand...
Once a case is put on a phone these days it is very difficult to tell apart.

I was working with a contractor a few months ago and he was complaining how slow his iPhone was. I said what is it like an iPhone 13 or so? Turns out it was an iPhone 11 with a very weak battery!
 
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DTphonehome said:
AT&T is running a promo where you can get either the 15 or 16E for $5.99 a month for 36 months. I need a phone for my daughter. Am I crazy for choosing the 15 over the 16E? She has no use for Apple Intelligence.

The way I see it, the 15 has fun colors, MagSafe, a better screen (brighter), Dynamic Island instead of notch, faster cellular, better camera system. The 16E has a faster CPU with AI support, action button, and better battery life.

The 15 currently retails for $699, while the 16E is $599. So the 15 is a “better” deal at the moment (that will probably change when the 17 is out).
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I’d pick the 16E.

The CPU, RAM, and battery life are significantly better and it will receive updates for longer. The camera is “good enough” and I don’t care for MagSafe.
 
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I got my younger teen iPhone SE 2022 couple of years back. I would probably choose iPhone 16E considering I like devices to be used for 6-7 years. If you upgrade every 2-3 years, doesn’t make much difference. But as the device gets older, buying newer device at time of purchase makes a difference.
 
Given a known entity at the same price as the experiment, I would chose the iPhone 15.

I looked at T-Mobile and they had a good deal. When I logged into my account, the good deal vanished. They're both expensive for current customers.
 
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madeirabhoy said:
Neither is wrong, 90% of what the phone does is going to be the same and just as good, but as you see there's enough differences to push some people one way and some the other.

what it is imho is bad decision making from Apple, very reminiscent of 1990s Apple when you often had competing models with pluses and minuses. Its fine when you are differentiating between 'better' and 'cheaper' or 'bigger' v 'smaller' but in these situations its likely to lead to less sales and not more, for the amount of people who will stand in shops or online looking between the two, failing to make a decision and kicking the can down the street for a few more months. we've all done it, nearly made a purchase and havent because we couldnt decide which to buy.
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Yep, this is a quagmire and, I think, a first in the history of the iPhone in that they have a model that gets much better battery life but hs a worse camera system. My wife wants an iPhone that takes great pictures, but like many, she’s a phone creature, so battery life is near the top of the list of priorities. Apple has made this a tough call. After viewing some of the initial review videos on YouTube of the 16e, it appears that the camera isn’t so great with portrait photos, capturing freeze photos of moving objects, or dealing with low light.
 
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lalith said:
That's a valid point. As Apple continues to enhance its AI capabilities, there may be additional costs associated with accessing these features in the future. It's something to consider when deciding between the iPhone 15 and 16E. If AI is important to you or your usage, this could be a potential factor in your decision-making process. Thanks for bringing this up!
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The only useful part of Apple Intelligence is ChatGPT, Grok 3 is better for free, no point to buy a new 16 pro phone.
 
audiophilosophy said:
Yep, this is a quagmire and, I think, a first in the history of the iPhone in that they have a model that gets much better battery life but hs a worse camera system. My wife wants an iPhone that takes great pictures, but like many, she’s a phone creature, so battery life is near the top of the list of priorities. Apple has made this a tough call. After viewing some of the initial review videos on YouTube of the 16e, it appears that the camera isn’t so great with portrait photos, capturing freeze photos of moving objects, or dealing with low light.
Click to expand...

It's funny that people judge the camera before trying it and determining it’s not good because of the number of lenses.

And if photos/videos are your top priority, the 16e is the wrong device for you.
 
geta said:
It's funny that people judge the camera before trying it and determining it’s not good because of the number of lenses.

And if photos/videos are your top priority, the 16e is the wrong device for you.
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It’s not about cameras lenses alone. I’ve watched the early review videos on YouTube, and it seems to have deficits with capturing videos while the phone is being moved (due to lack of optical image stabilization). Also has deficits with portrait mode. Also has deficits with capturing videos in low light.
 
15 is better and maybe the 14 pro is probably better too, brighter screen, magsafe, better built quality, AOD

I mean it's slower and no AI but most people don't use AI anyways.

I'd probably get the 14 pro over the 16E.

Trying to get a smaller phone and sell my Ultra
 
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