This morning, at five a.M. PT/eight a.M. ET, Apple formally opened preorders for the new iPhone sixteen and iPhone 16 Pro. When I went to bed last night time, I had efficaciously not set up a preorder ahead of time and fell asleep proud of myself for no longer having offered the bright new iPhone.
However, 20 minutes after preorders went live today, I caved. But I didn’t get the highest-quit iPhone 16 Pro Max or the smaller, but similarly succesful iPhone 16 Pro. I didn’t even get the iPhone 16 Plus for its bigger display and (likely) amazing battery lifestyles. Instead, I preordered a base version iPhone 16 for the maximum ridiculous motives.
Why I preordered the iPhone 16
As someone who writes about telephones for a living, I always need the high-quality of the best. If there’s an Ultra cellphone available, I’m on it. If there’s a Pro model of a telephone, I’m there. I like having the excellent cameras, the nicest presentations, and the most features, and that’s why I generally convey phones like the Google Pixel nine Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Naturally, I’ve been using an iPhone 15 Pro Max as one in every of my each day telephones because it released closing yr.
Based on that, it might simplest make experience for me to preorder the iPhone sixteen Pro or the iPhone 16 Pro Max. So, why did I move for the normal iPhone sixteen alternatively?
One of the main motives is completely stupid and unreasonable. The iPhone 16 Pro is a very top class and properly-made phone, however I find its design so dull. It’s correctly the same layout we’ve had because the iPhone thirteen Pro, and I’m bored with it. The camera layout hasn’t modified, the colors are as drab as can be, and there’s not anything visually exciting about it.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 looks extra special. The new camera design is simple and a laugh, the frosted glass lower back felt top notch in the course of my palms-on time with it, and this yr’s colorations are nothing short of amazing. Teal and Pink are each terrifi, but I in the end went for Ultramarine. It’s a lovely blue and crimson combination and arms down one of the quality iPhone colours I’ve seen in years.
On a more practical be aware, I’m additionally tired of massive phones. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s titanium layout makes it tons extra usable than the stainless-steel iPhone 14 Pro Max, however it’s nonetheless a totally large gadget — and I’ve felt it after the use of it all these months. The prospect of switching to some thing so small and light with the iPhone 16 excites me.
Of course, switching from final yr’s Pro Max iPhone to this 12 months’s base version will include a few downsides. I’m going to overlook out on the telephoto digicam. I gained’t have almost as large of a show. I’ll need to place up with a 60Hz refresh price in place of a 120Hz one.
Those are all legitimate drawbacks I’ll want to place up with. Maybe I’ll find a way to deal with them, and that they won’t be an issue. Perhaps I’ll discover the switch too jarring and return my iPhone 16 for a Pro version. I’m now not positive the way it’s going to shake out just but, and that’s a part of what makes this preorder so silly. However, I additionally suppose it’s indicative of a couple of important matters.
For one, the distance between the bottom version iPhone and the Pro is smaller than ever. My iPhone 16 can have the Action button, the brand new Camera Control, the Dynamic Island, and the same 48MP number one digicam because the sixteen Pro. The biggest matters I’m missing are the telephoto camera, the upgraded ultrawide digital camera, a 120Hz display screen, and … that’s approximately it.
The iPhone sixteen inside the Ultramarine color. Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Secondly, I assume I’m at a factor in which I want some thing exceptional out of my smartphone. Joe from some years ago wouldn’t have even considered buying the bottom iPhone over the Pro. But this year, when I become searching at Apple’s website, I couldn’t help however assume how a great deal I loved the iPhone 16’s shades and mild design and how little I cared approximately a telephoto digital camera or more megapixels for my ultrawide shooter.
Will this all be a failed test and a terrible idea? It thoroughly could be! But proper now, I simply recognise I’m excited to get my small, mild, and blue iPhone inside the mail in a few days — and I suppose that’s OK.