Yearly tech upgrades aren't quite as exciting as they used to be, so it's safe to say that iPhone 15 and 15 pro owners don't really need to worry much. By and large, these phones are mostly the same with some nice bells and whistles to entice those of us who simply can't help themselves when they see fancy new hardware.
A number of us here at Digg are still using 4.7-inch iPhones, but all rumors point to the death of the one-handed phone as soon as 2025. As such, us geezers with iPhones for ants are finally having to go big or go home.
If it's been a few years since your last upgrade, you're in for some major improvements when the new models release on Friday, September 20, 2024. Everyone else? Pack it in, and wait for next September. Go on now — get!
Still here? Okay, fine. Let's talk details, and see what early reviews really have to say about the new iPhone.
Built for AI, but it's a no-show
As we mentioned in our iOS 18 overview, Apple is behind on their AI roll out. In spite of focusing heavily on their AI tech in the marketing, and claiming that the iPhone 16 is the "first iPhone built for Apple Intelligence," regular users won't even be able to use a subset of the promised features until later this year when they'll launch in beta. Frankly, it's kind of embarrassing.
And besides, iPhone 15 pro users will eventually get the AI features anyway. Keep your money.
The best pro features are now all in the base model
Many of the major features exclusively found in the iPhone 15 pro have made their way down to the baseline iPhone 16. Those fancy AAA games are no longer pro-exclusive, the action button is on the left side of new models, the cameras have been rearranged to capture 3D images and all new phones have a full eight gigs of RAM now.
The pro model still has an extra camera lens for superior telephoto quality, better battery life, an always-on screen and beefier internals, but most normies probably won't see much of a difference. The iPhone 16 pro is, you know, built for professionals.
Camera control is a big deal
In terms of day-to-day use, the brand new camera control is absolutely the biggest change to be found with this refresh. This capacitive button on the right side of the phone is dedicated to launching the camera, changing settings quickly and capturing the world as fast as possible.
Even better, third-party apps can use the camera control as well, so you can enjoy that hardware upgrade with more nerdy apps like Camera+.
This brand new button also frees up the action button for photographers, so it can be used for some other purpose. Maybe assign it to a shortcut that launches your favorite website with a single press, huh? C'mon!
In the market for a new Apple Watch? Here's what reviewers think of the Series 10.
[Images: Apple]
