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iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 16 Series and Apple Intelligence: A Masterclass in Overpromising?

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drugdoubles

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Jul 3, 2023
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Is the iPhone 16 worth your excitement—or your wallet? Let’s peel back the shiny veneer and see what’s really there.

Upgrades That Whisper Instead of Shout​

The iPhone 16 series rolls in with changes so subtle you might need a magnifying glass to notice. A chip that’s a tad quicker, a camera that’s a smidge sharper—hardly the stuff of dreams for the price tag they’ve slapped on it. You’d think for that kind of money, they’d deliver something that doesn’t feel like last year’s leftovers warmed up in a microwave.

Apple Intelligence: More Hype Than Help​

Then there’s the much-touted Apple Intelligence, which sounds impressive until you try it. For anyone outside the USA, it’s like being invited to a party where the door’s locked and the snacks are stale. You can fiddle with settings all day—language this, region that—and still end up with something that feels more like a rough draft than a finished product. Meanwhile, something like Grok slides onto your phone with a simple app download, works like a charm wherever you are, and doesn’t ask you to bow down to Cupertino’s whims. Plenty of other AI options out there quietly show up Apple’s effort without breaking a sweat—or your bank.

Echoes from the Crowd​

The chatter on Apple Community forums isn’t exactly glowing either. Seems like a lot of folks expected a dazzling leap forward and got a stumble instead—especially those not stateside. It’s tough to argue with that kind of disappointment.

Worth the Hype—or Just Hot Air?​

So, the iPhone 16: a dazzling upgrade or a dressed-up rerun? With upgrades that barely register and an Apple Intelligence that’s more promise than payoff—while slicker alternatives like Grok are just a tap away—it’s hard not to wonder if the hype train’s running on fumes. Maybe it’s time to step back and ask if this is really worth the fuss, or if your money’s better off waiting for something that delivers more than a fancy name.
 
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drugdoubles said:
Is the iPhone 16 worth your excitement—or your wallet? Let’s peel back the shiny veneer and see what’s really there.

Upgrades That Whisper Instead of Shout​

The iPhone 16 series rolls in with changes so subtle you might need a magnifying glass to notice. A chip that’s a tad quicker, a camera that’s a smidge sharper—hardly the stuff of dreams for the price tag they’ve slapped on it. You’d think for that kind of money, they’d deliver something that doesn’t feel like last year’s leftovers warmed up in a microwave.

Apple Intelligence: More Hype Than Help​

Then there’s the much-touted Apple Intelligence, which sounds impressive until you try it. For anyone outside the USA, it’s like being invited to a party where the door’s locked and the snacks are stale. You can fiddle with settings all day—language this, region that—and still end up with something that feels more like a rough draft than a finished product. Meanwhile, something like Grok slides onto your phone with a simple app download, works like a charm wherever you are, and doesn’t ask you to bow down to Cupertino’s whims. Plenty of other AI options out there quietly show up Apple’s effort without breaking a sweat—or your bank.

Echoes from the Crowd​

The chatter on Apple Community forums isn’t exactly glowing either. Seems like a lot of folks expected a dazzling leap forward and got a stumble instead—especially those not stateside. It’s tough to argue with that kind of disappointment.

Worth the Hype—or Just Hot Air?​

So, the iPhone 16: a dazzling upgrade or a dressed-up rerun? With upgrades that barely register and an Apple Intelligence that’s more promise than payoff—while slicker alternatives like Grok are just a tap away—it’s hard not to wonder if the hype train’s running on fumes. Maybe it’s time to step back and ask if this is really worth the fuss, or if your money’s better off waiting for something that delivers more than a fancy name.
Click to expand...

Upgrades That Whisper Instead of Shout​

When you introduce a type of product the world has never seen before it is very easy to incorporate new features to improve the product.. at least at first. As time goes on it becomes more and more difficult to add new features because you run out of ideas. This is inevitable for any product because there is only so much a single product can be expected to do. This is why every company is eventually accused of being no longer able to innovate.

Apple Intelligence: More Hype Than Help​

A.I. will never be "perfect" - and for some it will never even be useful. This is because humans are accustomed to incorporating feelings, emotions, and common sense into their decisions and A.I. can't offer those things. Feelings, emotions, and common sense are important because they steer our decisions, but they're also impossible to teach to a machine - partly because we humans don't fully understand them to begin with. How do you teach a machine something that you don't fully understand?

Echoes from the Crowd​

Unrealistic expectations vs. reality. Now, if people would check their expectations at the door and see a product for what it is rather than what they want it to be, then this world might be a much better place.

Worth the Hype—or Just Hot Air?​

Eventually we're going to have to make a major change; such as the switch from horses to automobiles, from vacuum tubes to transistors, or from dumb phones to smartphones - the first iPhone was the embodiment of such a change. The question is; when will that change come?
 
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Iwavvns said:

Upgrades That Whisper Instead of Shout​

When you introduce a type of product the world has never seen before it is very easy to incorporate new features to improve the product.. at least at first. As time goes on it becomes more and more difficult to add new features because you run out of ideas. This is inevitable for any product because there is only so much a single product can be expected to do. This is why every company is eventually accused of being no longer able to innovate.

Apple Intelligence: More Hype Than Help​

A.I. will never be "perfect" - and for some it will never even be useful. This is because humans are accustomed to incorporating feelings, emotions, and common sense into their decisions. Feelings, emotions, and common sense are important because they steer our decisions, but they're also impossible to teach to a machine - partly because we humans don't fully understand them to begin with. How do you teach a machine something that you don't fully understand?

Echoes from the Crowd​

Unrealistic expectations vs. reality. Now, if people would check their expectations at the door and see a product for what it is rather than what they want it to be, then this world might be a much better place.

Worth the Hype—or Just Hot Air?​

Eventually we're going to have to make a major change; such as the switch from horses to automobiles, from vacuum tubes to transistors, or from dumb phones to smartphones - the first iPhone was the embodiment of such a change. The question is; when will that change come?
Click to expand...

Did you write this? The reasoning is so weak
 
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Did Apple miss their mark? Maybe a little but they will do a full integration probably going into iOS 19. For me AI is a bit of a parlor trick. I find the summaries useful however.
 
By the way I use an old pro phone myself, just don’t think it worths that much money to upgrade while even the latest 16 pro is not a big upgrade at all. Change a new battery with student discount (someone else is student) is enough for me for another few years.
 
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I’ve found Visual Intelligence to be incredibly useful and the writing tools quite handy for chopping down dictations.

Photo editing is ok if you know its limits and take your pictures properly in the first place :)rolleyes:)

I like the cool new Siri animation.

I really like how it all works offline. I’d rather not be sending all my information to X or Google thanks.
 
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I am on 13 PM and likely won’t be upgrading till iPhone 19 or iPhone 20. However, I use Apple intelligence on iPad Pro M1 and my MBP. It’s quite useful, on highlighting mails that need attention and haven’t read. Notes, summarizing has been very helpful.
OP if you can’t upgrade from Old phone, it’s great. But if you are trying to talk yourself out by down playing Apple intelligence, it’s another story.
 
The OP analysis is just silly. Each year Apple brings us newer iPhones, a good thing. Whether or not any given phone is an appropriate upgrade depends on each user's individual needs and what phone they are upgrading from of course. Each user buys or does not buy. Simple.
 
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I7guy said:
Did Apple miss their mark? Maybe a little but they will do a full integration probably going into iOS 19. For me AI is a bit of a parlor trick. I find the summaries useful however.
Click to expand...
Yup. Apple AI is really beta still so yes it feels like "a bit of a parlor trick."

We agree that Apple AI is not going away and opine that it will not be beta forever. All of us should be planning on AI being an increasing part of our computing in the future.
 
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drugdoubles said:
By the way I use an old pro phone myself, just don’t think it worths that much money to upgrade while even the latest 16 pro is not a big upgrade at all. Change a new battery with student discount (someone else is student) is enough for me for another few years.
Click to expand...
I do think it depends what phone upgrading from. However, I find Apple NON Intelligence by ChatGPT to be marketing gimmick that was last minute thrown together, as Apple has spent years on cars and Vision Pros that don’t excite people. If they spent 5% of those resources on their own Apple Intelligence it would be a completely different story. And a lot of non-tech people are interested in the AI. I have a 15 Pro Max. I tried two different 16 Pro and Pro Max models and for the first time I do not own the newest iPhone going back to the original. For me, the 16 Pro was a joke. But if I was coming from Lightning or an older iPhone, it would be an okay update. The biggest thing is Apple should not have promised Apple Intelligence without a solid timeline in advance on what features would be shipped when. It would have told a lot of people to hold off. Tim Cook truly only cares about the money. Great at making products by putting together a supply line and manufacturing but he’s terrible at innovation. Tim fired everyone who was a threat to him. Made the wealthiest shareholders wealthier by giving people what they want rather than what a visionary would give them - the future. The Vision Pro for example is probably five to ten years from being a consumer product. Could be used for manufacturing or surgeons and etc. But as a consumer product, it’s a bulky look at tech possible in the future at the wearer’s discomfort and ridiculousness now. Same with the Apple Car. Couldn’t even ship Air Power. The ecosystem is built on anticompetitive practices that ensure Apple will stay sticky. Apple is a good company not a great one. It will possibly be irrelevant in 25 years unless they find a leader who is a visionary.
 
ThailandToo said:
I do think it depends what phone upgrading from. However, I find Apple NON Intelligence by ChatGPT to be marketing gimmick that was last minute thrown together, as Apple has spent years on cars and Vision Pros that don’t excite people. If they spent 5% of those resources on their own Apple Intelligence it would be a completely different story. And a lot of non-tech people are interested in the AI. I have a 15 Pro Max. I tried two different 16 Pro and Pro Max models and for the first time I do not own the newest iPhone going back to the original. For me, the 16 Pro was a joke. But if I was coming from Lightning or an older iPhone, it would be an okay update. The biggest thing is Apple should not have promised Apple Intelligence without a solid timeline in advance on what features would be shipped when. It would have told a lot of people to hold off. Tim Cook truly only cares about the money. Great at making products by putting together a supply line and manufacturing but he’s terrible at innovation. Tim fired everyone who was a threat to him. Made the wealthiest shareholders wealthier by giving people what they want rather than what a visionary would give them - the future. The Vision Pro for example is probably five to ten years from being a consumer product. Could be used for manufacturing or surgeons and etc. But as a consumer product, it’s a bulky look at tech possible in the future at the wearer’s discomfort and ridiculousness now. Same with the Apple Car. Couldn’t even ship Air Power. The ecosystem is built on anticompetitive practices that ensure Apple will stay sticky. Apple is a good company not a great one. It will possibly be irrelevant in 25 years unless they find a leader who is a visionary.
Click to expand...

Buying iPhone 16 series from the launch day is not smart since the Apple Intelligence is not ready at all even after around half year already
 
Rebranding AI, artificial intelligence, to Apple Intelligence indicates less new intelligence to be expected. Just look at Siri since her inception. But I'm happy we get more RAM (unified memory).
 
AlixSPQR said:
Rebranding AI, artificial intelligence, to Apple Intelligence indicates less new intelligence to be expected. Just look at Siri since her inception. But I'm happy we get more RAM (unified memory).
Click to expand...
Yes, you get more RAM. But, how much of that RAM is taken up by Apple Intelligence? The fact that Apple increased the base RAM configuration tells me that they are expecting AI to take up a sizable chunk of the RAM - hence the increase. If the AI is taking up a sizable chunk then are we still only able to use the same amount of RAM as we had before the increase happened? I may be wrong, but that is my suspicion.
 
Iwavvns said:
Yes, you get more RAM. But, how much of that RAM is taken up by Apple Intelligence? The fact that Apple increased the base RAM configuration tells me that they are expecting AI to take up a sizable chunk of the RAM - hence the increase. If the AI is taking up a sizable chunk then are we still only able to use the same amount of RAM as we had before the increase happened? I may be wrong, but that is my suspicion.
Click to expand...

Yeah Apple imagines their really can make some useful AI so they have more ram now, just like they believed Vision Pro would be next iPhone.
 
Iwavvns said:
Yes, you get more RAM. But, how much of that RAM is taken up by Apple Intelligence? The fact that Apple increased the base RAM configuration tells me that they are expecting AI to take up a sizable chunk of the RAM - hence the increase. If the AI is taking up a sizable chunk then are we still only able to use the same amount of RAM as we had before the increase happened? I may be wrong, but that is my suspicion.
Click to expand...
You can toggle it off in settings. Then both RAM and storage are used for other things.
 
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