The new iPhone 16 series was officially unveiled in the early morning of September 10, including four models: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
iPhone 16 series
Although the new generation of iPhones has many selling points: equipped with AI functions, the “largest screen in history” of the Pro series, and the newly added “camera control” button…, there are still many controversies. The iPhone 16 has been criticized for its ugly color scheme, the lack of AI support in the Chinese version, the low refresh rate of 60Hz, and the starting memory of 128GB.
New iPhone 16 colors
The first to be judged was the color of the standard version of the iPhone 16. Early in the morning of September 10, after the iPhone 16 series was officially unveiled, the topic of “Apple’s color scheme is ugly” rushed to the hot search on Weibo. In fact, the color scheme of the iPhone 16 Pro series has not changed much, and the desert gold color has been added. According to past experience, it is likely to be a popular color scheme.
iPhone 16 color matching is criticized
The point of more debate among netizens is that the five colors (black, white, pink, dark cyan and ultramarine) launched on the standard version of iPhone 16 are “richer” and more saturated than the previous generation, and netizens complained that they look like long johns and garbage bags.
Generally speaking, new color schemes launched by Apple will be popular. But then again, Apple’s new color schemes have also failed in the past. For example, the bright black color of the iPhone 7, Apple thought this color would be a big seller, but unexpectedly, due to material problems, it was easy to get fingerprints and was not scratch-resistant. There is also the new blue color scheme of the iPhone 12 launched in the past two years, which was said to be seriously inconsistent with the actual product and the renderings, and was nicknamed “slipper blue” by netizens…
As the saying goes, “Everyone has their own preferences.” Aesthetics is a very personal thing, but it is recommended to go to a physical store to see the real iPhone 16 before buying it.
Apple AI
Another controversial point is that Apple Intelligence, the flagship feature of the iPhone 16 series, is not pre-installed. The Chinese version of Apple Intelligence is not expected to be available until 2025, which means that domestic iPhone 16 series users will not be able to fully experience this core feature for a long time. This has weakened the competitiveness of the iPhone 16 series.
Apple’s move has been criticized by many domestic technology giants. OPPO Chief Product Officer and OnePlus founder Liu Zuohu said: “It’s interesting. Many AI interaction experiences coincide with each other, and many AI thinking logics are also very consistent. It’s just that releasing next year’s features a year in advance is a bit unexpected.”
Domestic technology giants complain about Apple AI
Xiaomi Group partner, president, and president of the international department Lu Weibing also appeared to post a message to veil Apple: Xiaomi 15, with its advanced AI experience for the “entire ecosystem of people, cars, and homes,” understands Chinese users better, and there’s no need to wait until next year!
iPhone 16 Pro starts at 128GB of memory
It’s 2024, but the iPhone 16 Pro still starts with 128GB of storage, and only the top-end Pro Max version has a minimum of 256GB of storage. In today’s information explosion, how can this be enough? Netizens joked, “No wonder WeChat has to be removed from the shelves, there will be memory after it is removed!”
The iPhone 16 Pro starts with only 128GB of memory
Moreover, the starting price of iPhone 16 Pro is 7999 yuan, which is not cheap, but it is still only equipped with 128GB of memory. The 128GB version is still launched on a flagship model priced at more than 7000 yuan, which really proves Cook’s mantra “Only Apple Can Do”.
Some netizens even joked: “Apple’s memory and storage are still made of gold. It’s 2024. It’s too abstract to spend 7,999 yuan to buy a phone with only 128GB.” “iPhone 16 Pro still has 128GB of memory. Do you really have the nerve to call it a flagship phone?”
It is speculated that the reason why the iPhone 16 Pro series launched the 128GB version may be just to keep its price the same as the previous generation. The difference in configuration between this year’s Pro version and Pro Max version is not too big, mainly in terms of screen size and battery, so the price difference between the two versions with the same storage is only 1,000 yuan. However, the problem of large price differences between different storage versions that has been repeatedly complained about before still exists. Excluding the Pro version 128GB version, the price difference between different storage versions is as high as 2,000 yuan.
iPhone 16 is still 60Hz
Just as controversial as the iPhone 16 Pro starting with 128GB of memory is that the standard version of the iPhone 16 still has a 60Hz refresh rate. For reference, even the thousand-yuan phones launched by domestic mobile phone manufacturers now have a 90Hz refresh rate. For Apple, the high refresh rate is still exclusive to the Pro version.
Netizens complained
A blogger said, “The iPhone 16 still maintains a starting storage capacity of 128GB, which is really hard to accept in today’s era of data explosion. Not only that, the screen refresh rate is still 60Hz, and the pace of the times is too lazy to keep up.” “As a $3 trillion company, it is still pushing a 128GB version with a 60Hz refresh rate high-end phone until 2024. There is no other company in the world that can do this.”
Overseas netizens complained
Overseas netizens are not satisfied with this configuration. A netizen named “Lvaan” posted: “Looking at Apple, I think releasing a new phone every 2-3 years might be a better choice. It’s fresh for people. So far, the non-Pro models are more like SE Pro phones. The iPhone 16 looks better, although 60Hz is still shameful.”
iPhone 16 not a big upgrade
Compared with the previous generation models, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have few perceptible upgrades. The appearance has been changed from a diagonal layout to a vertical camera design, which improves recognition and supports spatial photo shooting. The main camera is still 48 million pixels, but with the addition of fusion photography technology, it can easily output 24 million pixel high-definition photos.
Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are equipped with the A18 processor, which uses the second-generation 3nm process. The CPU architecture has been updated to an efficient 2+4 core design, and the GPU has jumped to a 5-core configuration, supporting hardware ray tracing technology. Compared with the A16 chip, the CPU performance has increased by 30%, and the GPU performance has soared by 40%. In addition, the cooling system has been optimized, and the sustained performance can be improved by 30% in high-load scenarios such as games.
However, the iPhone 15 series can already provide first-class photography and user experience. Apple’s optimization of these details of the iPhone 16 series, at least literally, is not highly perceived by users. Moreover, there is no improvement in the 60Hz refresh rate, charging and battery life, signal and other aspects that users care about.
A blogger said, “Fortunately I didn’t watch it last night, otherwise I would regret it. I briefly reviewed the Apple conference. The whole conference was lackluster. I have to admire Apple’s ability to squeeze toothpaste. The iPhone 16 has a new design and upgraded the chip. There are really no highlights in other aspects. It’s sold for 6,000 yuan, but the screen still has a 60Hz refresh rate. Apple is really confident.”
The product manager of iQOO Neo also complained, “It really looks like a remake of the iPhone 15. Has the bottleneck of the mobile phone industry really arrived?”
@戈蓝V Weibo screenshot
In addition to the above points, iQOO product manager @戈蓝V also believes that the iPhone 16 series solid-state camera button is very creative, but it has too many functions and interactions, which is a bit inconsistent with the impression of Apple’s simplicity and efficiency.
