I've moved to a 3-year cycle. Makes me feel much better about upgrading. The only downside is at 3 years the battery capacity is at 93%, not bad, but not ideal.
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iPhone 15 Pro Max What exactly is better about the 16pm??
- Thread starter UKapple73
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I am in the 80% after 1 year lol
You reminded me of myself when I bought my first MacBook Pro in 2013. It was a MacBook Pro Retina Display Mid 2012. I used it until November 2021 when I bought my current MacBook Pro M1 Max. It is still as good as it was on day one 3 years later and I am going to use it for another 3-4 years maybe more.
I upgrade my TVs when they die and considering that 8K isn't mainstream I am keeping my TV for at least another 8 years.
On the iPhone side I agree with you and I don't justify the upgrade to the 16 Pro unless you need USB-C and 5x telephoto lens, always on display or your iPhone is an 11 Pro or older. I would have bought this year iPhone if it had more RAM because RAM is always the deciding factor when it comes to the next major release of iOS.
My only fear is that Apple will once again differentiate between the regular iPhone Pro and the bigger iPhone Pro Max.
It's something I hate because I like to have the best features in an iPhone in a 6.1-6.3 inch form factor or smaller without being forced to buy a bigger iPhone that I find unsuitable to me for my daily use.
My battery capacity of my iPhone 13 Pro is at 81%. If it had USB-C I would keep it until it stops receiving major iOS updates. I guess I have no other choice than to wait for the 17 Pro and hope it will be on par with the 17 Pro Max. It's just €99 to replace the battery and I think it's way cheaper than a new iPhone.
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You have to tell me how did you achieve this feat? I game on my 13 Pro, watch YouTube, use it as GPS, social media....etc and I am at 81% after 3 years and 788 cycles.
The foldables are getting better, Apple is going to be lagging soon. They need something new and different. They need another iPhone X
I have been keeping list of all the changes over the 15 PM phone, starting (and with THANKS!) to @UKapple73 for starting this thread and his list! Here is the latest Ihave, it is a fair amount of stuff - mind you, many may not be interested in. But it's here for your review...
- Frame
- Blasted titanium frame (vs. brushed)
- Taller by 3mm, Wider by 0.9mm, Heavier by 12 grams
- Faster MagSafe charging up to 25W
- Internals
- Better thermals/heat dissipation - better heat management/performance by 20%
- 15% faster CPU - A18 Pro (versus A17 Pro)
- TSMC's "N3E" second-generation, enhanced 3nm process (vs. "N3B" first-generation 3nm process)
- 20% faster GPU
- ??% faster Neural Engine with “next-generation machine learning accelerators”
- 2x faster hardware raytracing
- 20% increase in memory bandwidth (faster RAM)
- Snapdragon X75 5G modem (vs. Snapdragon X70)
- Longer battery life (for example, 33h of video playback instead of 29h)
- Wi-Fi 7 (Max theoretical speed of 46Gbps; vs. Wi-Fi 6E)
- Display
- 6.9” display (versus 6.7”)
- Latest generation Ceramic Shield (2x stronger)
- more power efficient display
- 2622 x 1206 resolution (higher res, but same PPI of 460)
- 0.2'' bigger display
- Slimmer bezels by
- 1 nit minimum brightness (vs. 2-4 nit)
- Camera upgrades
- New Camera Control button
- 48MP “Fusion" camera (instead of 48 MP “Main” camera.
- 48MP Ultra Wide
- 2nd-generation quad-pixel sensor with faster readout speeds and zero shutter lag (vs. 1st-generation quad-pixel sensor)
- Dolby Vision video recording up to 4K at 120fps (vs. 1080 up to 60 fps)
- ProRes video recording up to 4K at 120 fps (vs. 60 fps)
- Slo-mo 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps (Fusion) (new)
- Front camera: upgrades to 4K Dolby Vision recording across all frame rates
- QuickTake video up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision
- Support for new JPEG-XL format
- Enhanced (vs. 15 PM) depth mapping for AR and portrait photography, allowing for more accurate background and subject separation, more realistic bokeh, and better AR experiences.
- Spatial photos and videos (Isn't portrait mode the same as Spatial Photos? Not sure about this one...)
- Latest generation Photographic Styles
- Audio
- "Studio-quality" four-mic array
- Spatial audio recording (vs. stereo recording)
- Wind noise reduction
- Audio Mix
- Apple Intelligence features (exclusive or enhanced over prior phones)*
- *Apple Intelligence features coming later
- Visual Intelligence
- Writing tools
- Image Playground
- Prioritize, summarize, focus, proof-read features
- Enhanced Siri/ChatGPT integration
- Cleanup photos
- Math notes - handwrite equations
- Mail app enhancements
Underwhelming… yeah, but there is a lot that’s better. All incremental upgrades to be sure, but if the real-world performance matches the specs, nothing to scoff at. Better glass, better processor (~15% faster while using ~20% less power), better battery, new thermal management, a new color of dirt (okay, definitely not better here), some camera upgrades… And there is more. There isn’t an insignificant amount of improvement here.
All very good points but like you I’m leaning towards upgrading anyway despite what most everyone is agreed on is barely marginal upgrades. Thanks.
The foldables are good for those that like the
But they certainly aren’t for everyone. Between family, friends, and acquaintances, I know exactly zero people who have one. Not terribly surprising considering the cost of a good one. And, while shipments of foldable smartphones have increased, they still make up a small percentage of the smartphone market.
One of the most expensive components of smartphones is the screens, and foldables need two of them or more advanced screen technology. Over time those costs will come down, and maybe more people will adopt them. Until then, I think Apple has plenty of time yet to evaluate when, and whether they even need to create a foldable phone.
Have they though? They still have Tier 2 cameras; the latest Fold still cracks and scratches if something small gets inside the inner display before closing it; they’re quite hefty. And the crease is still an eyesore in tablet mode in anything but the darkest of light.
Ehhhhhhhhh not so sure you are in the majority who think this. I used a Pixel Fold for a few weeks and it was very cool. No scratches or anything stuck in the screen. Wasn’t hefty at all. Speaking from experience
Wow! Now that's a stat, spot on as well... That would have been 6 Plus launch where we gained "phablet" 5.5" screens.
Although, I still have my 6S Plus! That came with a big processor boost and a 3D Touch screen. They still work perfectly fine albeit the batteries are shot now. From the Powerpack era.
My flatmate had a FlipZ and it developed screen issues across the crease twice; Samsung/3 did a lot of buck-passing regarding replacement. This was a couple of generations ago, so they may have improved a lot by now.
The main reason I left Samsung for an iPhone years ago was because of all the bloatware — I always felt like they just threw a heap of "features" into the phones so they could say that they had them. But usability was borderline pathetic.
It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung do similar things with hardware — just rush something out to be first. But I would struggle to believe that right now, we can buy a flip smartphone that isn't going to have creases on that screen after being opened and closed hundreds of times every single day for 2 years.
This is a solid example of Apple's strategy. People complain about a lack of innovation but Apple will gladly sit on the sidelines of a flip phone resurgence until the foldable iPhone is actually good enough, whereas Samsung will gladly rush headfirst into the market so people can claim it's more innovative, even if the product is inferior and ultimately frustrating.
I think if Apple were a TV manufacturer, they would have held back on releasing a 3D model when they were in vogue just over ten years ago, and MacRumours users would have been up in arms about how far behind Apple were.
Then 3/4 years later, when nobody gave a hoot about 3D TVs and the fad had passed, it might have seemed a smart decision.
If it becomes clear in the next few cycles that foldables are the way forward and are not going anywhere, I’m sure Apple will get in on the action (after the benefit of learning from other companies’ mistakes).
Then 3/4 years later, when nobody gave a hoot about 3D TVs and the fad had passed, it might have seemed a smart decision.
If it becomes clear in the next few cycles that foldables are the way forward and are not going anywhere, I’m sure Apple will get in on the action (after the benefit of learning from other companies’ mistakes).
Exactly. This has always been Apple's playbook and the market has shown that it's the right way. Most people want consistency and to know what they're buying, it is a minority who want a new learning curve every year or 2. But the nature of forums is that most of that minority will join a tech forum, and then they appear to be a much bigger group than they really are.
While I agree with most of your points, the tandem OLED screen is quite amazing. Especially for HDR videos. Black is true black due to the nature of OLED, and the bright parts are REALLY bright. Much brighter than my OLED TV.
Going back to the iPhone, I still can’t find any reason upgrading to the 16PM from the 15PM. Apple isn’t even trying to convince us to upgrade a 1-year-old phone this time.
This is the point. Most sane people* don't buy a new phone every year. When they're ready all those small increments will have added up into a really big update. If you're just coming out of an iPhone 13 contract can you imagine how much of a leap forward the 16 will seem?
(*I used to switch between Android and iOS every 6 months due to ennui. It was a nutso thing to do in hindsight. This year will be the first year I've stuck with the same device, an iPhone 13, for a whole 12 months)
- just to be a little nitpicky, you did this in red below. Same. 🤪 lol. Carry on
- Display
- 6.9” display (versus 6.7”)
- Latest generation Ceramic Shield (2x stronger)
- more power efficient display
- 2622 x 1206 resolution (higher res, but same PPI of 460)
- 0.2'' bigger display
- Slimmer bezels by
- 1 nit minimum brightness (vs. 2-4 nit)
I have been holding for a quite a while with my 12 pro max
maybe next year we have a winner!
Well, it can probably gain you a second, but there is also a higher possibility of turning a camera on by mistake, while moving your iPhone.
bigger battery and hopefully better cooling due to the battery system inside.
Yep putting a button flush with side where you usually grip the phone to use seems sort of dumb.