10 conclusions after the presentation of the iPhone 16. There are questions for Apple

Well, let’s discuss.

Yesterday, the broadcast with you and periodically surprised, Apple often promoted Apple Intelligence and re-discussed features that they had already announced at WWDC 2024. Several times, old devices like AirPods Max were praised, for example, new minutes.

It seemed that Apple was completely late with the release of AI and did not time the major update of the iPhone 16. Had to spinMaybe I’m the only one.

While this is still relevant, I will share 10 points that I noted during the presentation.

1. The iPhone 16 has the same processor as the iPhone 15 Pro.but why did they call it anything else? In the broadcast, we proudly declared that “this year the chip has jumped a generation!”: like, the iPhone 15 had A16 Bionic, and now the new A18 Bionic. What a leap!

I repeat: the chip is the same as the iPhone 15 Pro, that is, it rebranding A17 Pro. By all key characteristics, including the Neural Engine. And the RAM is now also 8 GB, but not because there was a “generation jump”, but because this is simply the A17 Pro processor, which had these 8 GB a year ago.

Although, excuse me, there is one change: 1 video core was removed (or disabled) from the processor: there are 5 of them instead of 6. Should I jump already or not yet?

2. iPhone 16 is not the first iPhone for Apple Intelligence. There are no significant differences between them and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in terms of capabilities, performance, and overall efficiency of Apple Intelligence.

Introducing iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16, Designed for Apple Intelligence

– Apple

In fact, it’s just the first iPhone that was released. after Apple Intelligence announcement. Doesn’t sound that bright for marketing, does it? The fact that Apple is positioning the device so sharply, carefully forgetting that in this parameter the device is absolutely on par with the entire line of last year – such juggling of facts, you know.

3. AirPods Max haven’t changed at allexcept for the body colors and USB-C port. This was basically clear from the presentation, but if you go to their corporate website page, it may seem different – new provisions and terms have appeared, hinting at the opposite:

Professional-grade active noise cancellationWith 2x more noise reduction1, professional active noise cancellation neutralizes external sounds with the same effectiveness.

– Apple

This 2x noise cancellation, if you check the footnote at the very end of this awful page, turns out to be a comparison with, pay attention, the 1st generation AirPods Pro and the AirPods 4 with noise cancellation – open-type earbuds.

Let’s compare, I don’t know, with EarPods or no headphones on the head at all. Why do that?

4. Every year, there are more and more stars and footnotes on the Apple website. Apple’s practice of marketing exaggerations and stretching the owl on the globe is reaching a new level.

The AirPods Max, which have been “updated,” now have a whole page of small text for such footnotes. Other devices, like the iPhone 16, have two pages of footnotes.

5. Apple Intelligence will release quality ONLY by summer 2025.. about a third of the service’s functionality will be available in October-November, that is, only after some time month after the release of the new iPhone. Which, let me remind you, was “created for Apple Intelligence” with all its might.

A few more features are promised to be added by the end of 2024. And the rest we will see in the intermediate releases of iOS 18, planned for 2025. I would not be surprised if the gestalt will be closed just in time for WWDC 2025, which will take place in June 2025.

In other words, when Apple finally launches the iPhone 16’s main marketing feature, the iPhone 17 will be 3 months away.

6. iPhone 16 still has a USB 2.0 port.. This is the 2000 standard. The data transfer speed on it is up to 480 Mbit/sec or 30 MB/sec.

It is clear that not everyone cares about high data transfer speed via cable. Android smartphones are simply cheaper. iPhones often have USB-C standard 3.1 and higher. Huawei P60, for example. Google Pixel 5 (2020) too. And so on.

Apple is spending time and effort turning the A17 Pro into the A18 Bionic, but a penny port in a mid-range device leaves the old standard for a three-cent margin.

7. iPhone 15 Pro in Russia is cheaper than iPhone 16 will cost. I see last year’s new “Pros” for 85 thousand rubles. Then I see the iPhone 16 for 115 thousand rubles. Let’s compare:

▪ Difference in using iPhone 16: Capture Control touch button.

▪ Differences in using the iPhone 15 Pro: 120 Hz Pro Motion display, Always-On indicator, telephoto camera, larger video core, processor, USB 3.2, titanium case.

What’s the point of getting the iPhone 16?

8. Apple’s eco-initiatives speak to reality. With each new device at yesterday’s event, Apple executives returned to the Apple 2030 program — the company’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions to zero. That’s great. But let’s face it.

The new MagSafe are faster than the old ones, meaning if you want increased charging speed and have already bought the “puck”, you need to buy a new one. Okay, acceptable. The AirPods 4 kit no longer includes a charging cable, so you either need to buy MagSafe, use the Apple Watch charger, or buy a cable. The (official) obsolescence cycle of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max has ended in 1 year, they are no longer on sale. This is especially good for nature, I guess.

Every year, each company consistently produces an unimaginable number of cases, bracelets (with quarterly changes in collections), accessories, headphones, chargers and other small items. All of this wears out and is thrown away, and most of it cannot be recycled. And all of this has to be regularly bought (and re-bought) by the owners of their gadgets, increasing the volume of junk in nature.

9. 5x Telephoto Lens Now Available on iPhone 16 Pro. I have already expressed my opinion on this topic – in short, this is an extreme that imposes restrictions on the convenience of shooting in a number of cases.

Opinions on this issue in the comments are divided, but the essence does not change: the iPhone needs either another camera at 2.5-3x, or an improvement in the aperture ratio and post-processing algorithms. Until this is not the case, the device will have a “hole” of deteriorating shooting quality over the distance.

10. Apple has finally found a clear positioning for the iPhone Pro – and this video. You can argue for a long time and find disadvantages in vaccines, but you can’t take away a single fact. The iPhone 16 Pro completely destroys and destroys any other smartphones in terms of amateur and professional video shooting capabilities. With improvements in sound recording, video processing speed and editing, the device simply has no alternative on the market.

Just watch the presentation on the site, where the segment of The Weeknd’s video is, as well as other examples of videos there, shot on the new “pros”. Detail, picture and sound quality, color correction and post-processing capabilities… it’s not just cool, it’s awesome. The iPhone has long been a frequent guest on film sets. Now even more so.

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That seems to be all.

Presentations are always about mixed impressions, often negative ones – but ahead are real reviews and overviews, a little experience of using devices and, perhaps, completely different conclusions. If you want, share yours below in the comments.

In the meantime, we continue to study what happened and what changed in the revolutions – we follow the news, of which there will be a lot in the coming weeks.