iPhone 16 Pro Max Did you return your 16 series iPhone?

[BugeyeSTI]

Went from a 15PM to a 16PM and have no regrets what so ever. I'm still getting used to the capture button but overall i like it. To me, the phone feels bigger and heaver (thats because it actually is) and now feels like the perfect Iphone size to my big old hands. Im even rocking an Otterbox Defender case on it and it feels perfect, my huge thumbs barely touch now when i type, a nitpick i had on the 15PM but thats because last year i was rocking a slimmer Spigen Imac G3 Case instead of my usual otterbox defender cases that i normally use. (Still got the 16PM Imac Ruby Red G3 Case for the phone if i want to switch it out later on)

Overall to me the phone feels near perfect now. My biggest issue was the capture button getting in the way but it doesnt at all. I still got to get used to it, but i like the idea behind it. Hell i think they should use that button for non camera things like scrolling though the phone without touching the screen. That be a fun little option and i'll bet ya in IOS19 they will add that at some point.

so far no complaints what so ever. In fact, its making me question getting the rumored Ipad Mini 7 or going back to the Ipad Pro Max, because besides split screen apps and pencil support, those are the only two things the Mini can do that the phone cant.

Now...if they put out a Ipad mini pro with an OLED Screen and FaceID id buy that in a heartbeat...but thats years away and even further away is my dream foldable iphone pro that opens up to a ipad mini! Maybe on the 20th anniversary in 3 years!

Overall i honestly dont see what more they can do to fix the current format of Iphones. Maybe totally eliminate the Dynamic Island? Split Screen or a return to Horizon mode for the ios? (Like the original Max phones had, remember that when you turned the phone sideways and the UI turned with it? I miss that) but thats all software based stuff we could get.

Physucally i dont see outside of switching to foldable phones or adding a built in stylus simular to how Samsung does with its ultra line...i have no idea what more you can do with these phones.

The new button is literally called the capture button and is specifically designed and marketed for the camera. It will always be for camera control, they may add more camera functionality to it but that's it..

 

[th1nk]

After looking forward to the smaller bezels and bronze color and playing around with the phone for 2 days now I have decided to return the Desert Titanium 16 Pro and return to my Natural Titanium 15 Pro instead of selling it to my friend.

The main reason: I don’t like that they made the phone bigger and heavier again. My history: I had an iPhone X for a long time and it was amazing. My next iPhone was an 14 Pro which I hated: big, heavy, clunky sharp corners. When I switched to the 15 Pro it felt a bit like returning to the trusty old iPhone X, it feels really nice in the hand. I really like how it feels in my hand, snug like a pebble.

Fast forward to this year: the iPhone 16 Pro feels much like the 14 Pro again in the hand and I don’t like it. I can tolerate it, but the 15 Pro somehow just feels much better even though it is just 1 mm difference in width. The smaller bezels on the 16 Pro look nice, but the bigger screen did not do anything for me. The 15 Pro looks very similar if you don’t fixate on the bezels. If they had kept the same size of the phone and just reduced the borders, I would have kept the 16 Pro no questions asked.

The Desert Titanium color is way too muted for me in person, I had hoped for a stronger copper look. I think if they would go with a black back cover and keep the rails and cameras golden that would look really stunning. As is, it looks pretty boring to me and is not worth the change for me. The Natural Titanium on my 15 Pro is boring too, but that’s fine.
The camera control button did nothing for me either and is tough to find by touch without looking, I struggled to press it sometimes. Also I have just set my Action Button to camera and thus it was redundant for me.

All in all I just noticed that I would miss my little 15 Pro too much and I would have paid 550 bucks for an upgrade that I would regret. Going from 15 Pro to 16 Pro felt a little stupid anyway, because the 15 Pro still is blazing fast and has 100% battery health even after a year, so all the little annoyances added up to my decision.

 

[fatTribble]

I also dont understand those people. It sounds more like impulsive buying than anything else. You can’t expect much if you want to upgrade after only a year. Some people have to understand that phones aren’t made for yearly updates anymore.

Upgrading every year is up to the individual. Just please don’t buy an iPhone like a pair of jeans.
Do your research.

Some people post about their return as though they are making a bold statement of rebellion when to me they just didn’t do enough research before they made the purchase.

 

[waquzy]

Up to you if you believe me. I buy EVERY year no matter what. This year, it just wasn't enough to justify the cost. Camera control after using it was no big deal.

There's your problem

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I did. I setup my 16PM exactly how my 15PM was and when I added a case, I could not notice the screen difference. The camera control really isn't a "oh wow" feature and isn't worth $1300. The 16PM feels heavier as well.

Did you read a single review? Most, if not all, say that it’s a nominal upgrade from the 15. I’m not sure what you expected.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Upgrading every year is up to the individual. Just please don’t buy an iPhone like a pair of jeans.
Do your research.

Some people post about their return as though they are making a bold statement of rebellion when to me they just didn’t do enough research before they made the purchase.

I think some of it stems from people actually believing there is such a thing as “fear of missing out.” There is no such thing. It is simply a new catch phrase that is really code people use to try and justify an inside shortcoming.

 

[kp98077]

Went from a 15PM to a 16PM and have no regrets what so ever. I'm still getting used to the capture button but overall i like it. To me, the phone feels bigger and heaver (thats because it actually is) and now feels like the perfect Iphone size to my big old hands. Im even rocking an Otterbox Defender case on it and it feels perfect, my huge thumbs barely touch now when i type, a nitpick i had on the 15PM but thats because last year i was rocking a slimmer Spigen Imac G3 Case instead of my usual otterbox defender cases that i normally use. (Still got the 16PM Imac Ruby Red G3 Case for the phone if i want to switch it out later on)

Overall to me the phone feels near perfect now. My biggest issue was the capture button getting in the way but it doesnt at all. I still got to get used to it, but i like the idea behind it. Hell i think they should use that button for non camera things like scrolling though the phone without touching the screen. That be a fun little option and i'll bet ya in IOS19 they will add that at some point.

so far no complaints what so ever. In fact, its making me question getting the rumored Ipad Mini 7 or going back to the Ipad Pro Max, because besides split screen apps and pencil support, those are the only two things the Mini can do that the phone cant.

Now...if they put out a Ipad mini pro with an OLED Screen and FaceID id buy that in a heartbeat...but thats years away and even further away is my dream foldable iphone pro that opens up to a ipad mini! Maybe on the 20th anniversary in 3 years!

Overall i honestly dont see what more they can do to fix the current format of Iphones. Maybe totally eliminate the Dynamic Island? Split Screen or a return to Horizon mode for the ios? (Like the original Max phones had, remember that when you turned the phone sideways and the UI turned with it? I miss that) but thats all software based stuff we could get.

Physucally i dont see outside of switching to foldable phones or adding a built in stylus simular to how Samsung does with its ultra line...i have no idea what more you can do with these phones.

But a iPad mini with a 16 max isn’t that kind of overlap??

 

[eelpout]

That’s because it is heavier and states so in the specs. I returned mine and got an iPhone 16 instead.

yeah, it's noticeably heavier with the regular 16 Pro too coming from last year's. bit of a bummer that they made the screen bigger. giving my wife my old 15 Pro because it's lighter than her 13 Pro and she likes that.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I’ll say it. Going from a 14PM to a 15PM was a waste of my money. Other than being lighter and a different color, there’s no difference in my day.

A year ago almost to the day. Time flies!

 

[Carlsberg69]

A year ago almost to the day. Time flies!

Very happy still having the 14 PM then 😂 when both 15 and 16 clearly are such a waste…

 

[waquzy]

A year ago almost to the day. Time flies!

2024 - "I did. I setup my 16PM exactly how my 15PM was and when I added a case, I could not notice the screen difference. The camera control really isn't a "oh wow" feature and isn't worth $1300. The 16PM feels heavier as well."

2023 - I’ll say it. Going from a 14PM to a 15PM was a waste of my money. Other than being lighter and a different color, there’s no difference in my day.

lol, the OP is never happy.

 

[Salty Pirate]

I returned a 16 pro.

Could not get the camera button to do anything other than take pics and zoom in and out

I kept noticing a light bleed from the sides on some of the gui animations

AT&T screwed up on the cross-grade and get multiple account esims on and that created all kinds of weirdness

So, after I returned it and AT&T got my 15 pro working, I could not notice how much better it felt. I guess it is the weight. Like, 19 grams less? It is noticeable.

 

[jayonegame]

Yes albeit I was coming from an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Noticed that the 16 PM was notably heavier (surprising given it was 6g heavier) and bigger making it harder to handle compared to the 15 PM. Camera button wasn't useful enough imo and similar to you I did not notice much of a difference for the screen size after you put it in a case.

 

[burgman]

You couldn't have taken 10 seconds to read about what the phone offered before going to the trouble of buying it?

I mean this post works, you're getting lots of attention. So success I guess?

Seriously, ignoring the useless snark, reading 10 seconds of Apples Marketing description of all their products guarantees a warm tingle while pressing buy now.

 

[burgman]

Whoa you think so? That is far from my experience. You updated to the latest 18.0 build specifically for the 16 Series (a 400MB update from the 18.0 it shipped with)?

Perhaps just give it some time. I'm not saying it never gets warm, but in my experience significantly less so than 15 Pro Max and also dissipates significantly faster. I use an Apple-branded silicone case, that is another differentiating factor.

My 14Pro Max gets warmer on 18 vs 17. Maybe 18.1 will fix it. Any public beta testers notice a difference?

 

[burgman]

I think some of it stems from people actually believing there is such a thing as “fear of missing out.” There is no such thing. It is simply a new catch phrase that is really code people use to try and justify an inside shortcoming.

Wow the geek rage is getting personal now😂

 

[Omegaman87]

First time iPhone user, I'm thinking about returning mine due to the pro max touch issues. Everything else is fine with the phone it's the touch issues that are getting to me a little bit.

 

[huanbrother]

Upgrading every year is up to the individual. Just please don’t buy an iPhone like a pair of jeans.
Do your research.

Some people post about their return as though they are making a bold statement of rebellion when to me they just didn’t do enough research before they made the purchase.

Do some research before buying...
Apple: 14 days return policy.

 

[JoeG4]

2024 - "I did. I setup my 16PM exactly how my 15PM was and when I added a case, I could not notice the screen difference. The camera control really isn't a "oh wow" feature and isn't worth $1300. The 16PM feels heavier as well."

2023 - I’ll say it. Going from a 14PM to a 15PM was a waste of my money. Other than being lighter and a different color, there’s no difference in my day.

lol, the OP is never happy.

If the OP is bored of iPhones, then they should try a galaxy fold or a pixel fold or whatever crazy gadgety phone.

I went and did that. Still got my Fold4 and an iPhone 13. I like that Fold4! I've been pondering getting a 16 pro. But for the use cases that I enjoy using my fold4 for, the iPhone 16/pro probably wouldn't replace it.

But it's also hard to argue for that form factor. The MSRP is insane so the only reasonable way to buy a folding phone is to have a trade-in phone that qualifies for a giant credit on trade-in. (Like getting a $1000 discount on a Fold with an old Samsung). And then the folding phones will probably not last as long as non-folding phones can.

And then there's the whole cost vs value vs utility thing. You can buy an iPhone 16 pro and an iPad Pro for the MSRP of a galaxy fold or pixel fold and each device would be far better at their use case. The folding phones are a weird compromise that makes them awkward when used as a phone or tablet. But they're so fun to use!

 

[jtgil]

I think some of it stems from people actually believing there is such a thing as “fear of missing out.” There is no such thing. It is simply a new catch phrase that is really code people use to try and justify an inside shortcoming.

I think the correct term for all these guys returning their 16 and going back to older iPhones is not FOMO but VMRD, Validate My Return Decision.

Anyone claiming their 15P or 14P is better than the 16P is lying.

I love how all complain about the weight, start living with it cause it’s getting old, any non plastic android competition in this class is similar or heavier mostly. You don’t see android users complain about the weight, and no one cares really. (Specially flip/fold phones, those are a beasts, will love everyone’s complaints about apple fold ones then lol)

Battery complains are getting old too, iPhone 16pm and 16P are the current most lasting phones along the Samsung s24 ultra and pixel 9 pro (they have bigger capacity) so I don’t know what everyone is complaining about.

Also the other iPhones have the best performant battery life specs out there and sure some androids might be better (again bigger battery) but iPhones are not that bad 16/15 non pro are around top 5-10 also among the competition depending on test.

Grow up everyone, apple cannot bend physics laws.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

I think the correct term for all these guys returning their 16 and going back to older iPhones is not FOMO but VMRD, Validate My Return Decision.

Anyone claiming their 15P or 14P is better than the 16P is lying.

I love how all complain about the weight, start living with it cause it’s getting old, any non plastic android competition in this class is similar or heavier mostly. You don’t see android users complain about the weight, and no one cares really. (Specially flip/fold phones, those are a beasts, will love everyone’s complaints about apple fold ones then lol)

Battery complains are getting old too, iPhone 16pm and 16P are the current most lasting phones along the Samsung s24 ultra and pixel 9 pro (they have bigger capacity) so I don’t know what everyone is complaining about.

Also the other iPhones have the best performant battery life specs out there and sure some androids might be better (again bigger battery) but iPhones are not that bad 16/15 non pro are around top 5-10 also among the competition depending on test.

Grow up everyone, apple cannot bend physics laws.

The other part. You have people abusing the return policy to play with it or make a video about it. No intention of keeping it in the first place or couldn’t afford it from the start. Apple should start charging a 15-20% restocking fee to curb the return abuse. Would give others a chance that actually want it. Bet it would also stop the quick sell outs during pre order. I just seen a video podcast of this idiot that bought two. One in the new desert color and black. Took the desert one out, pulled screen sticker and said it’s going back. Why? Because they hated the color how it looked irl. That ******* and there are plenty of others like that, just took away from someone waiting on theirs. You know, that actually really want it.

 

[jtgil]

My 14Pro Max gets warmer on 18 vs 17. Maybe 18.1 will fix it. Any public beta testers notice a difference?

I’m a beta tester but don’t have the 14pm anymore, have the 15 and 16pm. No differences in 15 getting warmer as before.

If you want to, please tell me your use case and other details pertaining to your usage, be specific about the most and least demanding activities to get a feel. And battery charging condition and if it also experiences elevated temps. Any other points of relevance too.

There is a chance that I get access to a 14pm in 1-2 weeks and could look into it.

 

[jtgil]

The other part. You have people abusing the return policy to play with it or make a video about it. No intention of keeping it in the first place or couldn’t afford it from the start. Apple should start charging a 15-20% restocking fee to curb the return abuse. Would give others a chance that actually want it. Bet it would also stop the quick sell outs during pre order. I just seen a video podcast of this idiot that bought two. One in the new desert color and black. Took the desert one out, pulled screen sticker and said it’s going back. Why? Because they hated the color how it looked irl. That ******* and there are plenty of others like that, just took away from someone waiting on theirs. You know, that actually really want it.

Oh yeah that too, personally I hate it and kudos to apple for allowing that **** for free. To be fair people complain about apple really quickly but it’s the best company in general for support and device return/repair. Sure they could be better but the others are a nightmare (yes I have had the unfortunate pleasure to deal with them).

Honestly I understand why people do the **** they do but I find it disgusting. I have never purchased anything intending to return it or think I might not like. In which case I go see it first to see before committing. But hey we live in a rent/subscription era so it doesn’t surprise me.

Also I think apple banks in the assumption that most people that purchase even if they are not sure to keep it to not return it in the end. Returns are actually insignificant in the overall sales numbers.

 

[SmugMaverick]

After looking forward to the smaller bezels and bronze color and playing around with the phone for 2 days now I have decided to return the Desert Titanium 16 Pro and return to my Natural Titanium 15 Pro instead of selling it to my friend.

The main reason: I don’t like that they made the phone bigger and heavier again. My history: I had an iPhone X for a long time and it was amazing. My next iPhone was an 14 Pro which I hated: big, heavy, clunky sharp corners. When I switched to the 15 Pro it felt a bit like returning to the trusty old iPhone X, it feels really nice in the hand. I really like how it feels in my hand, snug like a pebble.

Fast forward to this year: the iPhone 16 Pro feels much like the 14 Pro again in the hand and I don’t like it. I can tolerate it, but the 15 Pro somehow just feels much better even though it is just 1 mm difference in width. The smaller bezels on the 16 Pro look nice, but the bigger screen did not do anything for me. The 15 Pro looks very similar if you don’t fixate on the bezels. If they had kept the same size of the phone and just reduced the borders, I would have kept the 16 Pro no questions asked.

The Desert Titanium color is way too muted for me in person, I had hoped for a stronger copper look. I think if they would go with a black back cover and keep the rails and cameras golden that would look really stunning. As is, it looks pretty boring to me and is not worth the change for me. The Natural Titanium on my 15 Pro is boring too, but that’s fine.
The camera control button did nothing for me either and is tough to find by touch without looking, I struggled to press it sometimes. Also I have just set my Action Button to camera and thus it was redundant for me.

All in all I just noticed that I would miss my little 15 Pro too much and I would have paid 550 bucks for an upgrade that I would regret. Going from 15 Pro to 16 Pro felt a little stupid anyway, because the 15 Pro still is blazing fast and has 100% battery health even after a year, so all the little annoyances added up to my decision.

Exactly the same as me, except I got the Black pro.

It's going back tomorrow and I'll keep the 15 pro, brighter screen, better feel and better value.

 

[jtgil]

Exactly the same as me, except I got the Black pro.

It's going back tomorrow and I'll keep the 15 pro, brighter screen, better feel and better value.

This whole reply made laugh, I hope you’re proud of your bs reply.

Brighter screen? Lmao? 16=15
Better feel? Lmao? 16=15

Size difference 15vs16:
Length= 0.3cm (3mm) (0.12 inches)
Width= 0.09cm (0.9mm) (0.035 inches)
Weight=12grams (0.42 ounces)

————————

Specs 15p
Length=14.66cm
Width=7.06 cm
Weight=187

Specs 16p
Length=14.96cm
Width= 7.15
Weight=199

————————

Next thing people will complain battery is too small and they should put bigger batteries and next thing you know the same people are complaining it is 12g heavier too. But hey it “feels” heavier, let me get that 1K back I need to pay rent next month…

You don’t need to upgrade and you shouldn’t, but don’t come around and say embarrassing stuff like that.