iPhone 16 Pro Max Bought my non-techie wife a 16 Pro Max (currently has 12 Pro Max). Even she said to take it back and wait for a more substantial change! 😄

[Hal~9000]

While I’m a bit of a tech nerd, my wife is not at all and simply uses her trusty 12 Pro Max over the last 4 years. Since it’s her only device I figured I’d surprise her and purchased a 16 Pro Max which we picked up on release day from the Apple Store. She seemed excited on the drive over and while picking it up, but once we got home and we were about to begin the setup she asked me what the improvements were between last year and this years…

I told her the 16 Pro Max has:
A) Camera button on the side
B) Screen is 0.2 inches bigger
C) Battery lasts a few hours longer
D) Ultra-wide camera has a 48mp sensor
E) Apparently gets less hot during use
F) Might get some AI stuff next year

She looked at me for a moment to gather her thoughts and said “That’s it? While I really appreciate the sweet thought of you getting me a new phone, I don’t think this years model is really worth the money. We should probably just return it and wait for a more substantial upgrade as I can stick with my current phone for another year.” 🤣

Wonder how good / bad the sales numbers will be for this cycle if even non-techie people are not convinced to upgrade their old phones 🤔

 

[now i see it]

The hallmark feature of the iPhone 16 is its $1200 button.

 

[F23]

hardware wise alone yes it is definitely one of the weakest updates year to year. if apple intelligence features were available it would definitely mask the lack of hardware updates.
with no ultra 3 either it feels like apple intelligence took a lot of focus and work away from the hardware updates this year

 

[Shirasaki]

Here we go. Live example of how underwhelming this years upgrade is. Wonder how low bar Apple can go in terms of incremental improvements. Only spec bump?

 

[i007]

I find it wildly bizarre that Apple’s main marketing point is apple intelligence…….that is not even here at launch. Before someone points out the marketing says “fall” and “this year, I’m fully aware. I think most people are not seeing the fine print and assuming the new phone ships with the new feature. Seems to be a part of the disappointment in most of the comments.

 

[bruinsrme]

Here we go. Live example of how underwhelming this years upgrade is. Wonder how low bar Apple can go in terms of incremental improvements. Only spec bump?

Every year the same threads. I personally love the look at me, I’m sticking it to apple and their upgrade.

 

[2761216]

To actually appreciate this year’s iPhone you should be at least mildly tech savvy.
120Hz itself would be a big welcome upgrade and if she can’t appreciate that then you should be happy she’s not into shiny objects just for the sake of it.

 

[subjonas]

Compared to her 12PM, there are other improvements:
- higher camera zoom (5x vs 2.5x)
- sharper main camera sensor (48MP vs 12MP)
- macro photography
- photographic styles
- ProMotion
- Always On Display
- crash detection
- emergency/messages via satellite
- 13 more hours of video playback (more than a few hours)
- USB-C with faster data transfer (USB3 vs USB2)
- higher max storage capacity
- faster wireless charging
- brighter and dimmer display limits
- spatial video/audio recording
- layered audio recording without headphones in Voice Memos app (if she’s a musician)
- better bluetooth and wifi
- faster processing

Whether she would care about these things though I don’t know.

 

[Infinitewisdom]

Compared to her 12PM, there are other improvements:
- higher camera zoom (5x vs 2.5x)
- sharper main camera sensor (48MP vs 12MP)
- macro photography
- photographic styles
- ProMotion
- Always On Display
- crash detection
- emergency/messages via satellite
- 13 more hours of video playback (more than a few hours)
- USB-C with faster data transfer (USB3 vs USB2)
- higher max storage capacity
- faster wireless charging
- brighter and dimmer display limits
- spatial video/audio recording
- layered audio recording without headphones in Voice Memos app (if she’s a musician)
- better bluetooth and wifi
- faster processing

Whether she would care about these things though I don’t know.

Coming from a 12 Pro Max, there are some great upgrades. But for your average person, most of these are invisible.

 

[Koobs]

Im in the camp of appreciating the "under the hood" upgrades more than a flashy/different looking phone.

 

[dave006]

F) Might get some AI stuff next year

Hmm the AI stuff starts next month and her iPhone 12 can't run any future AI features. Does she just use it a basic phone? Does she use any third-party apps that may drop older iPhone models.

Dave

 

[subjonas]

Coming from a 12 Pro Max, there are some great upgrades. But for your average person, most of these are invisible.

I don’t know if most users completely don’t care about most of these improvements (if that’s what you mean)—some I’m sure. For these kinds of specifics, it’s hard to accurately project what most people care/don’t care about without collecting a good amount of data.

 

[Kent viggo]

Honestly, I dont blame your wife! Im also a tech nerd, and debating returning mine. Coming from a 12 pro with.. 82% battery life. Had it since friday, it has mostly been sitting on the shelf in its case. Havent even had to charge it yet after setting it up, it just that uninteresting.

I bought the 16 Pro to take pictures, but when viewing the images the two phones produces.. whats the difference. Ultra wide is actually SHARPER on the 12 pro. Redicilous.

Raw is substantially better, so I will be using that, but still... For the price I paid - not happy.

Its actually the first apple product ive bought where it feels properly and thoroughly boring. Properly disappointed this year, which ive never ever been over an Apple product, ever. Was hoping for atleast a new camera sensor (imx903).I dont care much about 120 hz screen, or the internals (i dont live on the phone, no gaming etc).

 

[JPack]

It’s about the appreciable differences. People can list out the spec page comparisons, but the typical user doesn’t care about them.

Most people don’t care for more zoom, macro, ProMotion, USB-C, etc.

From my experience, the typical user cares about the disappearance of the notch/DI and whether Apple will have foldables. Those are real upgrades to them.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

16 Pro/Max is 15 Pro/Max “S” Last year people bought the 15 Pro/Max for the action button. This year, it’s for the camera button. Yes, you read that right. Apple users will pay $999/$1,199 for a button and pumped about it. You can’t make this stuff up….

 

[Mikey86uk]

Sure. I believe you. 😂

 

[Sami13496]

I actually think the less techie people see even less reason to upgrade… it’s us “nerds” who get excited over small small changes

 

[FreakinEurekan]

While I’m a bit of a tech nerd, my wife is not at all and simply uses her trusty 12 Pro Max over the last 4 years. Since it’s her only device I figured I’d surprise her and purchased a 16 Pro Max which we picked up on release day from the Apple Store. She seemed excited on the drive over and while picking it up, but once we got home and we were about to begin the setup she asked me what the improvements were between last year and this years…

I told her the 16 Pro Max has:
A) Camera button on the side
B) Screen is 0.2 inches bigger
C) Battery lasts a few hours longer
D) Ultra-wide camera has a 48mp sensor
E) Apparently gets less hot during use
F) Might get some AI stuff next year

She looked at me for a moment to gather her thoughts and said “That’s it? While I really appreciate the sweet thought of you getting me a new phone, I don’t think this years model is really worth the money. We should probably just return it and wait for a more substantial upgrade as I can stick with my current phone for another year.” 🤣

Wonder how good / bad the sales numbers will be for this cycle if even non-techie people are not convinced to upgrade their old phones 🤔

That’s honestly about how I felt moving from my iPhone 12 Pro to a 15 Pro last year. The only thing that made it palatable at all, is that my employer subsidized it.

My wife wants a better camera on her iPhone, so we ended up trading phones… I’m back to a 12 Pro for now 😉 and will get a 17 Pro with the next subsidy. By then, maybe the AI features will be worth using.

 

[ShadowGuardian87]

I would say that the 16 pro max would be a good upgrade from the 12 pro max if you wife had given it a chance with daily use. The 16 pro max is a harder sell for those with the 15 pro max as they are extremely similar and the 15 pro models will also get Apple Intelligence which is the big selling point for the 16 series phones.

 

[ninethirty]

Yeah, that's a conversation that definitely happened.

 

[Spotlighter9]

While I’m a bit of a tech nerd, my wife is not at all and simply uses her trusty 12 Pro Max over the last 4 years. Since it’s her only device I figured I’d surprise her and purchased a 16 Pro Max which we picked up on release day from the Apple Store. She seemed excited on the drive over and while picking it up, but once we got home and we were about to begin the setup she asked me what the improvements were between last year and this years…

I told her the 16 Pro Max has:
A) Camera button on the side
B) Screen is 0.2 inches bigger
C) Battery lasts a few hours longer
D) Ultra-wide camera has a 48mp sensor
E) Apparently gets less hot during use
F) Might get some AI stuff next year

She looked at me for a moment to gather her thoughts and said “That’s it? While I really appreciate the sweet thought of you getting me a new phone, I don’t think this years model is really worth the money. We should probably just return it and wait for a more substantial upgrade as I can stick with my current phone for another year.” 🤣

Wonder how good / bad the sales numbers will be for this cycle if even non-techie people are not convinced to upgrade their old phones 🤔

I just upgraded from a 12PM to 16PM and it is a massive upgrade...you clearly didn't sell her enough...and why would she only ask/care about the improvements from last year's 15PM?!?

So you left out the biggest desired upgrade to the 12PM...ProMotion 120hz display!!!

To her 12PM, the 16PM also has every single upgrade and innovation made on the 13PM, 14PM and 15PM...including the ProMotion 120hz Display, Always on Display, Brighter Display (inside/outside), Dynamic Island, action button, USB-C, CPU/GPU/RAM/WIFI/RF/Bluetooth upgrades, Emergency SOS via Satellite, crash detection, increased storage capacity, faster MagSafe, smaller bezels, lighter titanium chassis, rounded edges, an insanely better camera/lenses, cheaper repairability, etc, etc, etc.

As for not being worth the money, you also needed to factor-in the costs of NOT upgrading. After 4 years her 12PM battery is now likely degraded to the point that it will soon need to be replaced for ~$100....so you'll be putting more money into that lesser capable, depreciating 12PM. And by holding the 12PM another year...you also risk damage or repairs that would further reduce its value. I can also say that the 12PMs will very likely not qualify for the $1000 carrier trade-in subsidies next year...I was surprised they did again this year.

From this perspective, upgrading from the 12PM makes sense.

Good luck!

 

[TheRealAlex]

While I’m a bit of a tech nerd, my wife is not at all and simply uses her trusty 12 Pro Max over the last 4 years. Since it’s her only device I figured I’d surprise her and purchased a 16 Pro Max which we picked up on release day from the Apple Store. She seemed excited on the drive over and while picking it up, but once we got home and we were about to begin the setup she asked me what the improvements were between last year and this years…

I told her the 16 Pro Max has:
A) Camera button on the side
B) Screen is 0.2 inches bigger
C) Battery lasts a few hours longer
D) Ultra-wide camera has a 48mp sensor
E) Apparently gets less hot during use
F) Might get some AI stuff next year

She looked at me for a moment to gather her thoughts and said “That’s it? While I really appreciate the sweet thought of you getting me a new phone, I don’t think this years model is really worth the money. We should probably just return it and wait for a more substantial upgrade as I can stick with my current phone for another year.” 🤣

Wonder how good / bad the sales numbers will be for this cycle if even non-techie people are not convinced to upgrade their old phones 🤔

The 16 Pro Max is a MASSIVE Upgrade. It’s all the 15 Pro Max owners who are upset crafting narrative posts that it’s NOT a Good Upgrade. 16 Pro Max is the biggest Upgrade in the last 5 years here is why.

#1. it’s a bigger Display HELLO ! ALMOST 7” inch’s That’s a Tablet.
#2. 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 7500Mhz Vs the 15 Pro Max LPDDR5 RAM runs at 3200Mhz Hello !
#3. 4K HDR @120 FPS video, 15 Pro Max ain’t doing that.
#4. WIFI 7 with 6Ghz Radio Band.
#5. ARM 9.2 vs ARM 8.6 on the 15 Pro Max (this is likely the most significant Update in Architecture and Kernel securit)
#6. New Stronger Glass
#7. 48MP Ultra Wide faster camera with a dedicated button. The 15 Pro Max is 12MP Ultra Wide.
#8. Virtually bezeless
#9. Thanks to iOS 18 Nerf to the A17 Pro the A18 Pro was 15% faster now it’s 25% Faster (that’s what Apple does)
#10. Good luck getting Dolby Vision recording like this out of any other iPhone they just Can’t
#11. Enhanced 3nm die fixes all the overheating issues found on the A17 Pro CPU.

Maybe it will be 5 more years before the iPhone line grows in size again.

ill stop here it a massive improvemen.

 

[NeonNights]

That story tells me you have an amazing wife and partner. She is smart with wonderful common sense. Goes way beyond the phone and shows she knows what she wants/needs/values. Congrats on picking each other to share your life together with. 👍

 

[wickedrm]

I just upgraded from a 12PM to 16PM and it is a massive upgrade...you clearly didn't sell her enough...and why would she only ask/care about the improvements from last year's 15PM?!?

So you left out the biggest desired upgrade to the 12PM...ProMotion 120hz display!!!

To her 12PM, the 16PM also has every single upgrade and innovation made on the 13PM, 14PM and 15PM...including the ProMotion 120hz Display, Always on Display, Brighter Display (inside/outside), Dynamic Island, action button, USB-C, CPU/GPU/RAM/WIFI/RF/Bluetooth upgrades, Emergency SOS via Satellite, crash detection, increased storage capacity, faster MagSafe, smaller bezels, lighter titanium chassis, rounded edges, an insanely better camera/lenses, cheaper repairability, etc, etc, etc.

As for not being worth the money, you also needed to factor-in the costs of NOT upgrading. After 4 years her 12PM battery is now likely degraded to the point that it will soon need to be replaced for ~$100....so you'll be putting more money into that lesser capable, depreciating 12PM. And by holding the 12PM another year...you also risk damage or repairs that would further reduce its value. I can also say that the 12PMs will very likely not qualify for the $1000 carrier trade-in subsidies next year...I was surprised they did again this year.

From this perspective, upgrading from the 12PM makes sense.

Good luck!

Hit the nail on the head.

Your wife is getting 4 years of updates, not one. It’s also true that not upgrading can cost you more money in the long run, since you can’t take advantage of dealer promotions with older phones.

 

[NeonNights]

The 16 Pro Max is a MASSIVE Upgrade. It’s all the 15 Pro Max owners who are upset crafting narrative posts that it’s NOT a Good Upgrade. 16 Pro Max is the biggest Upgrade in the last 5 years here is why.

#1. it’s a bigger Display HELLO ! ALMOST 7” inch’s That’s a Tablet.
#2. 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 7500Mhz Vs the 15 Pro Max LPDDR5 RAM runs at 3200Mhz Hello !
#3. 4K HDR @120 FPS video, 15 Pro Max ain’t doing that.
#4. WIFI 7 with 6Ghz Radio Band.
#5. ARM 9.2 vs ARM 8.6 on the 15 Pro Max (this is likely the most significant Update in Architecture and Kernel securit)
#6. New Stronger Glass
#7. 48MP Ultra Wide faster camera with a dedicated button. The 15 Pro Max is 12MP Ultra Wide.
#8. Virtually bezeless
#9. Thanks to iOS 18 Nerf to the A17 Pro the A18 Pro was 15% faster now it’s 25% Faster (that’s what Apple does)
#10. Good luck getting Dolby Vision recording like this out of any other iPhone they just Can’t
#11. Enhanced 3nm die fixes all the overheating issues found on the A17 Pro CPU.

Maybe it will be 5 more years before the iPhone line grows in size again.

ill stop here it a massive improvemen.

iPhone performance remains excellent, even on older models. I imagine iPhone 16 real-word performance difference isn't significant despite line item spec bumps.

WiFi 7 support is nice, granted you have a router too that supports it. My router is still WiFi 6, not even 6E, and it's been fine.

As for Dolby Vision capture and playback, it apparently has been available since the iPhone 12.

Get the new iPhone if that's your thing but iPhones within the last 3-4 years are still good. If you're on a 14 or 15 series iPhone then you're really not missing much from the 16.