Although I’ve covered Apple tech for many years at this point, fall 2024 is probably the most deeply I’ve ever been involved in the iPhone hype cycle. Prior to then, I was content to buy older models, or at least wait a few weeks after launch, as I did with the iPhone 13. But last year, I decided I not only wanted a flagship device — the iPhone 16 Pro — but to get it on launch day. That meant losing sleep to pounce on pre-orders, then obsessively checking on order status, right through to the day my phone was delivered. I’d already switched over to it full-time by the time my shift was over.

I’m largely pleased with my decision, the eye-watering pricetag notwithstanding. I’ve come away with a number of lessons, though, both about the 16 Pro and iPhone ownership in general. They’ve already influenced my attitude towards this year’s iPhone 17 lineup, and even the iPhone 18 series due in 2026.

5

Always-on display tech is the best Pro feature

An all-day, everyday convenience

One of the things I was most looking forward to with a Pro was StandBy mode. Yes, StandBy technically works on any iPhone, but it’s not nearly as useful without an always-on display. With AOD tech in tow, an iPhone becomes a sort of makeshift smart display, letting you check the time, date, weather, and sometimes other info without having to get close. I’m a light sleeper, so being able to roll over and see the time without having to pick anything up is genuinely useful.

Even better, as it turns out, is having an always-on lockscreen. I knew I’d be making use of lockscreen widgets, but glancing at my iPhone for the weather and my Apple Watch battery has gradually become a habit, all the moreso since I’ve started riding electric unicycles and need to know whether it’s too hot, too cold, or too rainy/snowy. During my workday, having the Notification Center “stick” onscreen means I’m less likely to miss an important piece of information, whether in my personal or professional life. It almost makes me wonder how I ever lived without it.

The good news for society at large is that Apple is finally bringing always-on-display tech to cheaper iPhones as of the iPhone 17, assuming the rumors are correct. It’s hard to justify the Pro split when so many Android phones have already beat Apple to the punch. With this change in mind, I might consider downgrading from a Pro at some point in order to save cash.

4

Apple’s telephoto cameras aren’t as good as they should be

Hopefully, that’s poised to change

A drumbeat I’ll keep pounding forever is that a telephoto is far, far more useful on a smartphone than an ultra-wide. One of the first rules of photography is to fill the frame with your subject, and in many cases, the best or only way of doing that is with zoom. When I was doing professional photo work, an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens was my default — I almost never brought out my 10-20mm ultra-wide unless I was shooting cramped interiors.

For that reason, I was excited to finally own an iPhone with a telephoto camera, but Apple’s implementation in the iPhone 16 Pro leaves something to be desired. The sensor Apple uses simply can’t handle much outside of ideal lighting conditions. Noise and/or blur quickly rear their heads, despite processing and optical image stabilization — sometimes in conditions that my old Nikon D300 would’ve been able to handle. And while 5x zoom is fine, it’s still tough to get as close as I’d like to some subjects.

There is some promise for the future. The iPhone 17 Pro should upgrade from a 12-megapixel telephoto to a 48-megapixel one, and down the line, Apple may be preparing a sensor close in sensitivity to the human eye. Color me skeptical — even if I have the budget for a Pro, I’ll want to see photo samples first.

3

2

Apple Intelligence is a bust except for two features

ChatGPT to the rescue

At this point, Apple has publicly acknowledged its failures with Apple Intelligence so far. It’s still a tentpole for the iPhone 16 series, but Siri upgrades like contextual awareness and App Intents have officially been delayed into 2026. The company has also altered its marketing, for instance pulling a high-profile ad featuring Last of Us star Bella Ramsey. Behind the scenes, Apple is shaking up its corporate structure in a bid to get back on track.

I don’t make much use of the Apple Intelligence features we did get. I’m a professional writer, so Writing Tools are redundant, and I have even less use for things like genmoji and email summaries. Notification summaries and priority alerts can occasionally be handy, but only when the AI gets it right. Apple infamously stopped summarizing news notifications for a while because the results could be wildly inaccurate.

There are only two features I truly enjoy, the best being ChatGPT integration. Until iOS 18.2, Siri would often point you to the web for anything but the most basic of knowledge questions. Now I can hold down the side button and get a direct answer to almost anything, although I have to doublecheck some facts. The other feature is Visual Intelligence, which can simplify making phone calls or Calendar events, and describe objects in front of you. Thanks to ChatGPT, you can ask elaborate follow-up questions as well.

1

Processor power is increasingly unimportant

Bandwidth is the new king

Many eons ago, processor upgrades were one of the things iPhone fans cared most about. They enabled important new functions, or at least made apps significantly quicker to run or install. For a while, one of my unscientific measures of progress was how quickly and smoothly an iPhone could start navigating in Google Maps.

I first noticed diminishing returns when I upgraded from an iPhone XR to an iPhone 13, and that trend has only intensified with the 16 Pro. It’s rare that I notice any improvements in speed. Indeed, I recently switched to a 5G carrier, and that had a more dramatic impact on in-car navigation than splurging on $1,000 hardware. About the only respects in which processor power still matters are 3D gaming, AI, and video, and I’d rather play a game on my Steam Deck or laptop if I’m going to make it a focus.

All this makes it less likely I’m going to buy an iPhone 18, much less a 17. Who knows, though — may Apple Intelligence will eventually become the selling point Apple thinks it is, at which point I might want a faster phone to crunch Siri commands. Even then, a lot of that is going to be happening in the cloud.