iPhone 16 has a confusing secret… 

I don’t know. I’m keeping my iPhone until apple drops support.

When iPhone first came out, we upgraded every single year. Then around iPhone 5, we dropped down to every two years. Then I purchased the iPhone 8 plus and didn't upgrade until iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is my current phone. I'm not sure what my next iPhone will be, but there hasn't been a compelling reason to upgrade.

There's absolutely no reason for me to update because my phone does *everything* I need it to.

I personally think that the next major redesign will only come in 2027, because when the iPhone X was announced Tim Cook said it would mark the beginning of the "next 10 years of iPhone" or something along those lines. And it kind of aligns with the leaks that around that time they'll switch to under-display tech for face-ID and the camera. Until then, I expect only iterative spec bumps like we've seen so far.

I love that new iPhones come with minor to no new features because it means we can use our phones for longer. Remember when we got new redesign every two years ?

Replacing the battery in my 13 Pro and keeping it. Still does what I need from an iPhone.

releasing a new phone every single year is honestly a nightmare... for the users, while apple forces you to buy the new ones by making their iso slowers on the other phones.

“to 6.9, nice” 😂

Great, now I’ll have multiple pictures of the inside of my pocket with this extra button.

13 Pro Max has pretty much everything I still want- and had 4 big upgrades from the 11 Plus at the time. If I were to upgrade, it would strictly be one of those 'because I want it' purchases, which I really don't do on anything. And the titanium upgrade has been shown to be a bit of a scam since it's just bonded to an aluminum frame, and it's just a few grams anyway.

It still find it crazy that they announce a new phone with new features every year. I think if they just released a new one every OTHER year, that would be much more interesting. But then theyd get much less sales...

I have the iPhone 15 pro max. I’ll probably upgrade whenever the telephoto lens get 48 megapixels. I like zooming in for photos and I want them to look the best they can be

My 13 Pro Max is still kicking. I bet I get like 3 more years out of it.

I would speculate with the launch of the Programable action button. Apple got enough data to see that the majority chose the camera option. Which would tell them customers would like a dedicated camera button with additional features.

In my opinion, any manufacturer should only launch a new product if there’s really a great improvement. That goes for any kind of product. But only updating “just because the shareholders wants them to” at the cost of wasting natural resources and peer pressure, it’s just nonsensical.

I was almost content to keep my Galaxy S22 Ultra until the battery wouldn’t charge anymore. But I got tired of how large any heavy it was in the pocket. Was going to trade for an iPhone 15 Pro, but there was a promotion that got me an S24 for free. Now I’m pretty sure I’ll be content with this until either folding phones get a lot cheaper or it’s battery won’t hold a charge.

I think the bigger problem is that Apple is playing it too safe. They probably have a whole list of features ready for the next iPhone but want to spread them out so they can also have things to add for the iPhone 16, 17, etc. Especially after the departure of Jony Ive, they’re afraid of doing an overhaul with the phone because of iPhone being their best product, and any radical design change could create risk. Keeping the aesthetics consistent across all users just makes the transition from one phone to the other so old iPhone users can easily pick up a new phone and know what is what and how to use it.

a change from 'waterfall' to 'agile' design methodology as much of the rest of the tech world

I may be biased since my current phone is a 14 Pro and it was my final "major purchase," but I feel like the 14 Pro was peak iPhone. Lightning port and mute switch were hold overs from much earlier iPhones, flat sides from the 12 and 13 series, but they also call back to the 4/4S/5/5S, and stainless steel sides from the beautiful X/XS/XS Max, and matte glass from the 11 Pro/Pro Max. It also has pro motion, the dynamic island, magsafe, and a fantastic camera. Combines the best features of previous iPhones while still being innovative.

The last thing we need is to have bigger screens! by 2027 we will have Plasma tvs..... in our pockets!

I think iPhone has more changes each iteration now compared to previous years, remember the 6s to 7, iPhone X to iPhone XS? The iPhone Xs event takes "Apple event now only about the camera" to a whole new level, it has so few features that the new Max size was the headlining feature

Phones are a mature platform. There is very little left to improve year over year. I really like the direction of long term support both Google Apple and Samsung have adopted to let people keep their phones for 7 years. Now all we need is user replaceable batteries and we will be all set

I have the 14 pro I’m not upgrading for a long while lol

I agree with you Luke. I have the 12 and don’t need a new phone. I did the same thing with my X, 6S Plus, and 5S. Kept long enough to get as much from them as possible. Excited for USB C in the new phones BTW. (:

I hate the camera bumps. Give me a wedge shaped phone and fill the extra space with battery.

So the camera button finally makes a return I really missed it from when I used to have a lumia 920

I'm still using my 12 Pro, I think it's the perfect size especially for typing on, something bigger is just really bulky when using it in public, i also really like the design and the edging on it so i'm glad they kept it around for so many iterations of the iPhone, I think they just update incrementally to avoid major issues like they used to have every time they launched the new redesigned models back in the day, they even had to make a Xs because the X had some weird issues right out of the box, issues that would happen after years of use like the screen being slightly raised at the bottom corner and touchscreen losing responsiveness to touch

I wonder how that new button would work with cases?

Thanks for sharing. I upgraded to the 15 Pro Max and very satisfied. Blessings on your day!

I have the iPhone 12 pro and i have no problems, when should i upgrade? Is the 16 the time or should i wait for the 17?

I have a 7 plus and planned to get the 15pro last year, but hesitated because it didn’t include the 5x optical zoom. I am getting the 16 pro later this year for sure. I have no other Apple products and don’t plan to and I prefer the Android OS, but like the reliability of I phones.

I’ve been on the upgrade every 3 years cycle since the 6. Build up enough new features before making the change. I think that camera button would be something I would use pretty often but since I’m 15pm now I’ll wait a few years.

I’ve got an iPad from 2012, it currently takes 10 weeks 4 days to go from 100% battery down to 20%, functioning as an alarm clock with some web and RU-vid. Given the poor battery life on current devices, has iOS now become so complex that it’s a significant drain on the battery?

I’m still on iPhone 8 Plus and this year will be the year to get a new one for me. My 8 Plus still serves me quite well which is a testament of Apple’s great optimization between sw and hw, but going with 64gb version back in 2017 was a mistake. I will probably get 16 Pro this fall.

I’ll be going from 13 pro to 16 pro, this is the first time I waited longer than 1-2 years ever.

I’ll be going from the 13 Pro Max to the regular 16 Pro. I’m looking forward to the size reduction for convenience and the equivalent cameras between the two models. The iPhone SE 4 is a wild card that I am considering based on its form factor and equipment level.

I'm torn between getting the 15PM now or holding out for 16PM - either one would be a massive jump forward from my 7 Plus that is still hanging on

I keep my iPhones until software support is dropped.

What is the best upgrade to get if you are a 13 mini owner? I like the smaller and lighter form factor

iPhone designs were never shocking year after year. I guess it depends on how you look at it, but the iPhone - iPhone 4S PRACTICALLY had the exact same design on the front. The back and sides of the phone changed somewhat, from aluminum to plastic, to glass and stainless steel. The iPhone 5 was the first real redesign and it wasn’t even that massive of a redesign either. It was taller and allowed one more row of icons. Then when the iPhone 6 came out, we LITERALLY had that EXACT same design until the iPhone X with VERY little difference. Again, the front of the phone looked EXACTLY the same as the iPhone 6, the only thing they changed aesthetically was the back. They went from a single camera to a dual camera, then they gave it a glass back. There never really was massive design changes. this is just my opinion, I love my iPhone, but in reality I feel like the only time we got TRUE MAJOR redesigns was iPhone 6 and iPhone X. Everything else was iterative and minor. Which is fine, but it’s always been this way imo.

Been waiting for bigger displays

The 15 Pro is slightly smaller than the regular 15, this is the slight bezel shrink they basically had to make the phone itself slightly smaller, because getting displays created takes time. The 16 all they're doing is aligning the Pro to be the same chassis size of the regular and making the display size bigger (due to slider bezels).

Hopefully the colours will actually closely match the colour they claim to be this year.

I been on a two year upgrade cycle since 2020. I have TMobile and they been giving me basically an almost free upgrade with trade in (and be locked with them for two years but that’s fine). It is nice to upgrade to have the latest and greatest but also having a new battery is really nice because they get really degraded after a couple of years. So I have the 14 pro and assuming my carrier offers the same deal again, I’ll get the 16 pro mainly to have USB-C but the other stuff is cool too.

Finally a 6.9' screen similar to my S20 ultra. Time for an upgrade this year 😁

I think I’m just waiting till they have another small phone again. I love my iPhone 12 mini and I have no idea where to go from it with the current lineup anymore, so I haven’t gone anywhere.

With minor incremental changes, I think it's more about the software and WWDC to determine if I'm going to bother to upgrade. Hardware changes by themselves are not compelling, but if iOS 18 is going to bring some big changes and improve how I use my phone and interact with family and friends, then Android won't seem as exciting.

Should I upgrade from my original iPhone SE from 2016? Maybe I'll wait a few further years for better tech.

Good video. I hope iPhone 16 will still have a Sim card tray for those that don't live in the USA along with 8k video recording ability.

Upgraded from the iPhone X which I got in 2018 to the iPhone 15 pro max last year. I’ll probably stick with this phone for until another major redesign. I just don’t see the need to upgrade every year with these minor changes

5:28 pre-ZOOM-ably updated cameras lol

i have the money so I have no reason to not upgrade. And I'd argue the action button wasn't new, just a re-implementation of the mute switch. Therefore, I would say that the capture button is the first new button on the iPhone since 2007, since technically the action button was already there, just in a different form.

What is strange from Apple is that in few recent ads they compare iPhone 15 with iPhone 12 . Not 14. Not enough differences ? Is that Apple don’t assume it can not make new whaoo feature every year ? What will be the reference for the 16 ?

iPhone 11 pro battery case has a capture button. Big wow. Old news.

I'm on the annual upgrade program from Apple so if the new design is compelling, I upgrade. If the capture button is the main difference, I will probably upgrade even though it's not super compelling but I do use my phone for video and photos in a semi-professional way.

I’m part of the “upgrade every 5 years” club, I only just got an iPhone 15 six months ago which replaced an iPhone X. The YOY improvements are so insignificant these days that it basically doesn’t matter what version of the iPhone you have. If it weren’t for the dynamic island and square design I’d easily think my iPhone 15 was an iPhone X, it feels almost exactly the same just slightly better. So on that note I’ll see y’all at the iPhone 20 launch.

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I jailbroken my iPhone 14 pro since I stayed on iOS 16 and it’s much better (IMO) than stock iOS. On another, it’s in mint condition and at 89% battery health despite the 1.5 years I’ve had it I might sell it for a good price. I’m keeping the track on the rumors since I need usb-c but iPhone 15 pro is not enough as an upgrade IN MY USECASE.

i think that the iphone 11 was the last inovative iphone!! the camera bump has looked almost the same on every iphone since then... the only inovation was the dynamic island!!

I upgraded my 12pro max to a 15pro, as wanted a pro phone in a slightly smaller factor. The camera and display difference is amazing, the action button is actually really useful and I use it for camera. But other than that it is the same phone so am gonna wait at least 2-3 years before considering an upgrade.

One major issue in tech is space. Batteries are not getting better each year. it is the chip thats gotten better at utilizing the battery to operate the phone to run as a long as possible as fast as possible. Issue now is space is getting limited and tech for such tiny parts of a phone has slowed down becasue there is so much you can push chips, cameras, batteries without changing size. so also mentioned in the video is these phones are lasting longer. the phones are getting so good that you no longer have to swap every 2 years, you can swap every 3-4 and still have a properly functioning phone. so now its no longer about power but funcionality that the industry has to focus on to keep people engaged

XS Max is still peak iPhone design IMO. I’m more interested in what the SE4 will be. The SE3 is a terribly old design and they really need a new model there.

I hope they do go back vertically camera design

I think the flash is a missed opportunity. it could be a bar or a ring so as to provide a softer light, as well as it could refract off the glass in cool ways. I’m also supposed case makers haven’t done anything cool with the flash

Maybe an under water cámara control button.

Happy with my 2016 iPhone SE.

My dad and I used to get iPhones every 2 years. 4, 5, 6, 8. Then we waited to get our current phones (12) and we’re going to wait until whenever this next model comes out. My battery isn’t great and I definitely think the iOS experience has deteriorated over time despite getting more and more quality of life fixes and updates. The OS is not as stable as it used to be. Things don’t “just work” anymore, although they’re definitely better right now than they were a year or two ago. I’m okay with iterative (or “boring”) change as long as they continue to make the software side more stable

I just hope the 16pm has significant features other than a bigger screen so that I don’t feel stupid for waiting for the 16pm and not upgrading to the 15pm instead. I have faith they’ll upgrade the iOS to blow us away but knowing apple it’ll be exclusive features ONLY for their newest iPhones. I’m also not fully sold on esims yet because that makes it harder to switch phones right on the spot, by not being able to pop out the SIM card of one phone and into another. I love having that convenience but apple has their own plans and I don’t think it’s coming back in the USA 😢

Can you do a video on the powermac g4 quicksilver

Honestly I won't upgrade until: - Apple drops support for the device I have - It gets damaged in a way that is very inconvenient and upgrading costs the same as repairing, specially if the device is old (that's how I got my actual phone) - (The least likely) iPhone is redesigned to something I like so much and works so well I just simply need to have it.

How'd you forget the rumor about the 15 Pro Max 110mm pentaprism lens coming to the 16 Pro?

The next button on the side of the iPhone, will be a really tiny iPhone screen. So if you just want to look at your iPhone screen whilst it's there next to you on your bedside table and you don't want to pick it up to look at it, soon you'll be able to. 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

Imagine like a DSLR camera… holds up a mirrorless camera. Guess I will have to use my imagination. 😂

I'm not sure what you mean about design changes. The iPhone 6 to iPhone 11 kept the same design from 2014 to 2019 and the 12 to the 15 have looked more or less the same from 2020 to 2024. If Apple keeps to the same five year product design cycle then we are due a new look next year but apart from the notch my iPhone 12 looks the same as a 15.

i,m kinda tired of the triple camera lens but here,s hoping that # 17 will have a quad camera lens and a smarter ai siri then maybe i,ll consider an upgrade as of now i,m not too interested in the i phone 16. until then my # 8 is doing just fine for me.

The evolution of smartphones has become stagnant. There aren't much left to improve on a smartphone. Under screen camera, 100% bezelless is the only way they can go. The next step would be foldable phones and there are loads of things you can do with it. However I do miss the days where a reveal would also signify a big step in evolution. Now it's feeling just incremental.

I’m sticking with my 15 pro max for awhile. None of the rumors make me excited to upgrade.

Can we have the 3.5mm earphone socket back and get rid of that notch/island. I am still sticking with my 6s until they do.👍

i feel like my iphone xr is intentionally slowing down lately, not much changed in the past couple of years, why is it suddenly struggling so hard to do basic tasks.

I have an iphone 4 should i upgrade?

I'm stuck with iphone 12 mini and until Apple releases a new phone with the "mini" in the lineup. I always use the phone with one hand. If I want something with a screen bigger than 6 inches I buy an ipad.....

At least for me this was the first year I did not upgrade my iphone. I am still on the 14 Pro Max, I think the 15 Pro Max looks the same and offers nothing relevant to upgrade for. USB-C is awesome but for me it would be. used just for charging. Also not going to lie about the fact that stainless steel feels and look way more premium than titanium. Waiting to see what they come out with the 16 or move on to other phone brand to see and feel something different.

Not only Apple is applying this slow pace of innovating: Samsung has built the same phone for 3 years now, only changing the phone's deisgn by moving the flash up an down. Take the S20 and the S24: Almost unchanged camera (12 vs 50MP, but all pictures are still captured at 12MP), slightly brighter screen, that's it. Of xourse every year you receive a new processor, but thats what I expect from a new phone. Iphone 12 pro vs 15 pro: 3x camera, 120Hz, dynamic island, action button. And that has taken 4 generations?? Also, I love how "new" features would have been possible on the older device, but it's just blocked by software: E.g. the 14 pro and regular 15 boast the same 48MP camera resolution - while the 14 pro's pixels are slightly bigger, i.e. let in more light, only the 15 captures pictures at 24MP resolution while the 14 pro stays at the binned 12. And dont come at me with "yeah, but the 15 has a newer processor" - the 14 pro and the 15 have the same A16! Ridiculous.. Or Samsung with their mid tier FE phones: despite the s20 FE and the s21 FE having the exact same cameras, only the 21 can shoot portraits at 3x while the non FE s20 could do that too. Cant wrap my mind around such obvious software limitations..

The 5000 designers at Apple simply ran out of ideas. There seems to be nothing more to enhance.

I just wait for the battery life to deteriorate, or when Apple stop supporting them with the OS, then buy whatever iPhone is available. Currently running an iPhone 11 for work, and iPhone 13 for private use. Don't see myself upgrading for a few years yet, and even then I might just but a secondhand one to save some money.

Of course you'll need the newest iPhone 16 for the iRing to function.

When we go all screen is the next super cycle. Outside of that, everything will be iterative. My question is what do gen z/alpha think of phones upgrades? Most of them werent around during the crazy phone years when major yearly features and 2 yr cycles were a thing. Does this iterative update format matter to them? Do they care for specific features or changes. Cause id imagine if i was a teen today and getting a modern iPhone, i dont think id care between 14/15/16 since they all are good and practically do the same.

Just noticed the old trashcan Mac Pro, discretely sat on the shelf behind like a giant vase

My problem with “it’s a different time” or “the time has been changed” argument is that, when Apple basically released every new models and products, it wasn’t necessarily a time of changing neither. It was them leading the change rather than a “zeitgeist”. If they want, and if any company wants, we can live that era again. It’s only blocked because profit is more important than, you know, “innovation”.

Even in the beginning some bought the new phone every year… even now their are several people who buy the new phone every year

I'm planning to keep my *iPhone 15* for 10 years. Maybe, maybe, I'll consider upgrading after 8 years. (I take really good care of my devices.)

its because they are out of ideas, iphone has reached peak!

“Nice” 😂

Apple doesn't know what to do anymore, that is clear. It's kind of funny. From creative upgrades to incremental, 'it just works!' upgrades

Great video, Luke ..... but upgrading your iPhone all the time .... one needs to be very rich or very stupid to spend (more than) $ 1.000,-- all the time. As a Mac user I want an iPhone of course but I can buy a iPhone SE 2020 for less than $ 150. What am I going to use on a daily basis of the features that I get when buying an iPhone 16 Pro? - There is only feature that I care about: the CAMERA! - and then only when I am planning to go to new undiscovered area's (in everyday life the SE camera is largely enough).

id gladly take the 6.3 inch pro model if its true. I came from and iphone 12 (too small battery) and now the 14 pro max (heavy ass) and i think something sized in between would be good. Hopefully apple would cram a bigger battery inside, atleast 3800mah.

I have 14 Pro Max and I don't intend to upgrade at all this year nor in four, at least

4:05 too much chance of phone accidentally triggered while jumbled around from my bag.

Jonny Ives not there so slow design changes.

Im getting a 16 pro from my base 13. Battery life awful, cameras are fine/pretty good and everything else I a fine with. I do its of professional filming and the 13 isn't holding up for my projects very well so exited to upgrade at Christmas!

I think the X design era was the best iphones have looked aesthetically. I would be so happy if they changed the ugly camera bump. They also should just push the dynamic island up to the border and make it smaller. Its the most useless feature and needs to go. I feel like I have had the same iPhone since IOS7. You can pick up a 12 or 15 and they all look and pretty much do the same thing. Thats great and all but IOS & IPAD OS need huge changes. I have a 14 pro don’t think its an upgrade over a 13mini. The battery is terrible and the photos are the same. I will be holding onto my 14pro and just buying the next SE model out right.