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I can feel its uniformity is a bit off, but then it’s a picture taken by an iPad camera so not the best out there by any means. Just like other people says, if the uneven bezel bothers you a lot, return it and get a refund. Maybe future batches would improve? Hard to tell. Either way, I’m not going to lose sleep over uneven bezels.
 
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Sounds like one of those situations where having a keen eye backfires.
I wish I could unsee it. I cannot! It frustrated me due to the price. I sometimes have thought how absurd on people posting some small things. But to me design is important and Apple messed this up. I don’t feel like Steve’s Apple would allow this to happen. It’s like Tim really only cares about the money. Mine is definitely shifted also. Measuring the four corners can tell it’s slightly shifted to the bottom right. That’s why the top and bottom bezels are different distances depending on where measuring them.

I really am just going back to the 15 Pro Max. Thank God I didn’t trade it in to AAPL for $650. The camera control is not good. But the camera - 48MP is great! Takes good photos just using the display shutter touch rather than trying to hold steady and use the camera control. I would like the 16 Pro Max if I got a unit with a display that wasn’t tilted. But my main focus was to use the video, and at 1TB price, it’s just not good enough of quality. Prior iPhones are made extremely well. This one seems like it’s twisted. I am sure it would run fine, but I cannot unsee the issues with it. And the whole point of camera control is frustrating to say the least.
 
I see it but not sure it would bother me.. OP, if it bugs you that much return it for a new device and see if it's any different. You could also go look at the store units and see if it is common.
Going to the store tomorrow to check it out. It’s two hours each way so four hours roundtrip, but I am not sticking with this. I get it wouldn’t bother some people, but I never use a case and just want the device that I paid for. I am not paying for this sloppy throw together device that costs $1499 plus taxes….
 
Left side has a larger bezel than the right. That's what stands out most to me. Just exchange it if it bothers you.
It also has some failure to recognize touch input in apps. I was thinking it’s part of the problem but noticed that there’s a thread about it on here so probably just a software glitch. I am going to Apple tomorrow and will do whatever is correct.
 
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Click on the full screen shot as that’s where you can see it more obviously.

There is nothing obvious in this picture.
If you don’t believe a bloke on the internet, just ask friends and family instead.

Anyway, IF a difference exists it is because the aspect ratio of the visible screen must be different from the aspect ratio of the glass front and the phone’s chassis.
IF that is the case, I doubt you’ll find one that will satisfy your expectation.
Good luck nonetheless.
 
You are not crazy, I found it noticeable too. It doesn't matter when there's a case on and you might not be able to pinpoint what exactly is wrong, but it just looks wrong. On the demo unit I toyed with it looked like the whole display is tilted a degree to the side. On yours the right bezel looks to be smaller than the left.

It's your right to demand a perfect device at the price point so it's totally fine to return it.
 
I think your words might be true.
I thought I was tripping when I noticed that in my SE3 the left side is slightly more elevated than the right side. It is (probably) not a bloated battery or something but it was like that from the factory. I have no micrometer so unable to verify, but it seems to look noticeable. I will still use the phone but it feels sorta cheap. Yeah it is a “budget iPhone”, but it didn’t cost 50$ either.

Considering that Apple in the past told that bending iPads are OK, I think they have started saving up on QC long ago. Mass market economy in its full
 
Bothered my wife for her iPhone 15 PM to take photos. Here you go. I would say the bottom is the worst part. Here’s the thing. I use a white background as I cannot read as well without contrast or with dark mode on which is probably why I notice it so obviously.
You said you have some Canon shooters too. Can you try to take some HD shots and post them here so it would be possible to look into the issue more precisely?
 
Wondering if anyone else has noticed this lack of design principles or if it’s manufacturing outside of tolerance? The display and the frame of my iPhone 16 Pro leaves differences in the size of the bezels. Particularly noticeable around the corners and the top and bottom bezels are different sizes than the sides. You can take a micrometer and verify that your eyes are not deceiving you.

At first I thought it was the angle that it appeared at. But the micrometer is proof that my eyes aren’t lying. I can take my Nothing Phone 1 and the bezels are exactly the same all the way around.

This lack of attention to detail really bothers me. It makes the iPhone 16 Pro feel like a cheap Android phone!

The sides are thinner than the top and bottom bezels. The corners start small and get bigger all the way around. I wonder if this is a display manufacturer not getting it right and Apple letting it pass QC? Or is it so poorly designed? Now, I only have mine to see and I live a three-hour drive to Apple (round trip); however to me this is not worth $1500 plus tax…

In addition, the camera control BUTTON is nonsense and not fun to use. Better to use the display - and this is coming from a photography enthusiast who uses Canon equipment.

Are you fine with the bezel discrepancies? Or does your iPhone not have them? Do you think this is Apple now that they are so focused on money that they let design principles and manufacturing QC decline?

Do you find the camera control BUTTON to be useful in any way or would you prefer using the display?

Curious.

Returning mine.
they are not noticable to the naked eye.

Getting this info on reddit about case specs shared by Apple and finding 1 micrometer (0.00003937 inches) difference from both sides and then posting here with a clickbait subject is what exactly this thread is about
 
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I’m sorry you noticed this tiny variation in tolerance.

These are the narrow bezels everyone wanted as they bitched and bitched. It’s easier to see a 30-40um variance at smaller sizes than when they were twice the width.

So return your phone or buck up. Odds are, this will be the norm and Apple will never reach your level of perfection.

As they say with Tesla panel gaps, it’s within tolerance.
 
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I did notice this when I was setting up my dad's 16PM yesterday... I kind of just glossed over it though... I thought perhaps it was the angle I was holding it at.... In my mind I thought there's no way Apple would ship this phone with uneven borders so dismissed it..... But then I started seeing all the threads in reddit about it and now this. I don't have the 16 myself but in all honesty it's so miniscule that it wouldn't even bother me.... I understand your point though OP, you paid a lot of money for this device so if it's something very noticeable for you then you are well within your rights to return it.
 
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Interesting that the 16 Pro is the first iPhone ever that doesn't have uniform bezels on front full screen. I would never have noticed this and it wouldn’t bother me. I'd thought I'd seen it all over the years here, and I also thoroughly examine my screens for pixel or other defects when I get a new phone. But this takes the cake.

OP, you should get the Pro Max as the bezels are even thinner and all are uniform.
 
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Edit: On a third look your top bezel is thinner than that bottom. I'd bet a hair or something tiny got under and shifted it just a tiny bit. Shouldn't be the norm though.

Look at the entire photo, and it's easy to see the photo was taken at a slight angle. The bottom of OP's phone is closer to the lens than the top is, which makes the bottom of the phone appear larger in the image than the top, which means all parts of the phone (including the bezel) will appear slightly larger on the bottom of the photo than at the top.

To confirm this you can see the sides of the phone are not perfectly parallel with the sides of the photo. This is known as keystone distortion in photography, and it's why (as an extreme example) we see the tops of buildings as smaller than the ground floor when we take photos.

With keystone distortion there is no size difference between objects in the top and bottom of the frame, but the greater distance of the object at the top of the frame (in this case, the top of OP's phone) makes it appear slightly smaller. So we cannot know for sure that the top bezel is thinner than the bottom one, due to how the photo was taken.
 
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Surely, iPhones are a mass-produced consumer product - millions are produced from Factories in China and India for mass consumption. They are not limited-edition hand-crafted design pieces where every aspect is carefully evaluated to ensure that the absolute integrity of design principles is upheld. There will inevitably be manufacturing tolerances and, to my eye, this falls within that category.
 
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I’m sorry you noticed this tiny variation in tolerance.

These are the narrow bezels everyone wanted as they bitched and bitched. It’s easier to see a 30-40um variance at smaller sizes than when they were twice the width.

So return your phone or buck up. Odds are, this will be the norm and Apple will never reach your level of perfection.

As they say with Tesla panel gaps, it’s within tolerance.
Tesla panel gaps 😂
 
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they are not noticable to the naked eye.

Getting this info on reddit about case specs shared by Apple and finding 1 micrometer (0.00003937 inches) difference from both sides and then posting here with a clickbait subject is what exactly this thread is about
There is nothing clickbait about my post. I genuinely am frustrated and believe it’s way outside the tolerances in that article. It’s so obvious when looking at it.
 
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