iPhone 16/Plus Is the iPhone 16 and 16Pro the most obvious stop-gap in the iPhone's history?

[hoorayforhollywood]

Many believe Apple Intelligence was forced onto iOS18 (and iPad, Mac) in an effort to catch up with other AI systems when supposedly iOS19 was the planned release to have everything full baked in at launch.

With so much general meh about iPhone16 (before launch), is it a product Apple have intentionally ignored and therefore we'll be in for something truly special (and workable) this time next year with the iPhone17?

I'm in the mindset that next year's A19/A19pro chips (alongside M4) will be the time Apple Intelligence is fully realised in its first incarnation.

Will the iPhone16/Pro be looked back on in the future as a very minor 'S' because their hands are somewhat tied by software?

 

[Diorama]

Possibly.
But I have had my phone for two years, and want to upgrade; if the choice was between a 15PM and a phone that is slightly better than a 15PM, obviously I want the latter!

As someone who was obsessed with making slomo videos since it became possible (used to love the ‘SloPro’ app), and has bemoaned the lack of advances on that front in recent years, having 4K 120fps is something I am quite excited about.

 

[Kendo]

I kind of agree, they literally only hammered out a deal with ChatGPT a few months ago. But I think the stop-gap is more geared towards software, I think the hardware specs would be the same regardless.

Meaning suppose they hammered out the ChatGPT plans a year ago, I don't think the 16 Pro's A18 processor would be any more powerful or less powerful and I don't think the RAM will be any different either. I know there's rumors of 12GB in the 17 Pro but come on, this is the same company that's been using the same 8GB RAM in their MacBook "Pro" laptops for over 10 years now. And that is for a powerful laptop! So I wouldn't let fear of 12GB RAM stop you from getting a 16 Pro.

Similar to when iPhone 4 was first released with the Retina display, not all apps or websites supported the HD resolution so some were upscaled. But it isn't like you would think "man, I'll just go with the lower resolution 3GS instead". You might as well enjoy the next-gen powered hardware while you wait for the software to catch up.

 

[Treborray]

Definitely iPhone 15 S

 

[thadoggfather]

No way. iPhone 14 regular takes that crown.

Same SoC as iPhone 13 +1 in moniker only.

 

[Wags]

Probably, hard to tell. Don’t think we will ever see big release. Mature tech and Apple won’t do it anyway.