as my main gadget, and over that point, it has change into my go-to cellphone for every little thing from banking to images. I’ve used it largely bare or with an excellent slim case, and from day one, I added a Spigen Glas.tR EZ-FIT display protector, which has held up flawlessly.
My utilization is pretty typical: social media, messaging, calls, and loads of picture and video capturing. I shoot most movies in 4K60 for the graceful, high-quality look and the power to sluggish the footage down in a while. I shortly realized that 256GB is the minimal quantity of storage I want, although I’m having fun with the additional house on the 512GB mannequin I received.
I haven’t relied on it completely each single day, as I’ve examined different gadgets for evaluations, however the 16 Professional has remained my most important cellphone for a lot of the 12 months. Selecting the usual Professional over the Professional Max was completely the best name for me: it’s already on the bigger aspect, bordering on heavy, however nonetheless manageable for somebody who typically prefers compact gadgets.
Efficiency has remained snappy, and the loudspeaker continues to impress — I usually use it to hearken to music with out headphones. In brief, after virtually a 12 months of real-world use, the
has confirmed to be a dependable, high-performing each day driver.
My use largely consists of an unhealthy quantity of watching Instagram reels and messaging with associates, and I get someplace between 5 hours and 6 hours of display time on the 16 Professional. Which is a little more than what I received on the 15 Professional, however not by a lot.
Charging is unquestionably one of many issues I want improved on the iPhone, it’s only a bit on the sluggish aspect, and having assist for 45W quick charging would make an enormous distinction in comparison with the present 25W speeds
However MagSafe stays an extremely helpful function with so many equipment, from automobile mounts to tripods to the cool Continuity Digital camera function that means that you can use your iPhone as a webcam. At work, I join my Macbook Air to a monitor through a dock, and Continuity Digital camera is a life-saver for video calls.
Digital camera
The nice: 5X zoom digital camera will be very helpful
The dangerous: The upgraded ultra-wide digital camera was tremendous overhyped!
Many new telephones, particularly ones from China, get plenty of publicity for utilizing bigger sensors, and whereas they do excel in sure eventualities, I nonetheless discover that the iPhone strikes a fantastic stability of easy-to-use interface and digital camera high quality.
A central a part of that’s the iPhone digital camera app, which is low-key good. Zooming controls are extremely exact and completely optimized for contact, and switching between lenses is barely noticeable. That is tremendous vital for movies, and I discover the expertise so a lot better than any current Galaxy or Pixel cellphone.
Nonetheless, I do have a love-hate relationship with the 5X zoom digital camera. On one hand, I discover it virtually fully ineffective for my model of images. It could possibly be helpful for sports activities and live shows, however I largely take footage of family and friends, and for that, I actually miss a 3X zoom lens that feels far more sensible.
Alternatively, for recording movies, the 5X zoom distance has extra use for me. I lately launched an Instagram channel, simply capturing dance movies with that 5X digital camera, and since a lot of these movies are on stage, the 5X zoom digital camera is available in actually helpful, capturing element from distant.
A lot of my associates have been blown away to study that each one these movies have been captured on a cellphone, they usually have been particularly impressed by how I took all of them with no gimbals or tripods, simply holding my cellphone in my palms at 5X zoom.
Nonetheless, I would favor to see a 3.5X zoom digital camera that may strike the proper stability – you can use it for each day images with out it being too slim, and you can nonetheless get superb video high quality at longer distances. Let’s see if the iPhone 17 does that.
The 48MP ultra-wide digital camera has been a forgettable improve
Apple additionally made an enormous deal of the brand new 48-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera on the iPhone 16 Professional. In my expertise, the ultra-wide digital camera doesn’t get a lot use because it nonetheless feels much less succesful than the primary one and this improve has not modified that an excessive amount of. General, the large 48MP quantity on paper didn’t translate into any kind of a profound change to my ultra-wide pictures or movies.
As for the Digital camera Management button, I’ve began utilizing it a bit, nevertheless it nonetheless doesn’t make a lot sense to me.
I’ve set it to take a photograph, whereas a protracted press on the Motion Button begins video recording for me, however that separation, whereas neat in principle, proves approach too advanced for my mind to recollect.
Apps
The nice: The smoothest UI, greatest apps
The dangerous: Ecosystem lock-in
I’m not saying that apps on the iPhone are higher than apps on Android, however… they form of are!
My newest habit is the VSCO Seize digital camera app, a superb creation with tons of filters and results that elevate your images to a really creative degree. Bloom results sometimes achieved utilizing a particular filter on a daily digital camera will be simulated with only a faucet of the button. This creates a dreamy look that I like. And guess what? That app is simply out there on iOS!
Photographs taken with VSCO Seize (not out there on Android)
I do know that these are simply a few examples, and I’m conscious that a lot of the widespread apps today can be found for each iOS and Android, however it’s the frequency of updates and the convenience of optimizing for a restricted variety of kind elements that make iOS apps inherently higher than their Android counterparts.
The iPhone additionally stays the cellphone of selection for creators with unmatched video high quality, MagSafe assist for equipment, and basic ease of use.
AI
The nice: Nicely, not a lot!
The dangerous: Rather a lot
Other than a couple of overhyped area of interest options like Genmoji (that I’ve actually NEVER used) and Picture Playground (identical quantity of utilization), AI was a no-show on the iPhone 16 Professional.
Fairly the frustration for the primary iPhone “made for AI”.
Do I miss AI on the iPhone? Sure, however not an excessive amount of. My most important use of AI remains to be speaking to a chatbot, and all of these Chatbots, together with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and many others, can be found on the iPhone.
Positive, they aren’t as nicely built-in, however you possibly can at all times assign your Motion Button to open ChatGPT or Gemini, identical to Android does.
I don’t need to excuse Apple for principally mendacity to its customers concerning the iPhone 16 collection AI capabilities at launch, however not less than for my utilization, I’m not lacking AI all that a lot.
Among the many options I do miss a bit are Samsung’s AI picture editor/eraser with its extremely capacity to take away objects in an image, or the power to summarize YouTube movies that you just get on a Pixel cellphone.
My iPhone 17 Professional wish-list
I’m fairly proud of my time with the iPhone 16 Professional, however there are some things I wish to see enhance within the iPhone 17 Professional.
In no specific order:
- Silicon-carbon battery know-how for a much bigger battery in a cellphone that weighs lower than now
- Consequently, I’m wonderful with a 6.3-inch dimension, however I want it weighed a bit much less
- Swap the 5X digital camera for 3X or 3.5X
- A considerate implementation of AI
- 12GB of RAM
- Cheaper storage upgrades (these costs are insane)
Rumors level to September ninth, 2025 because the date when Apple will unveil its new iPhone 17 collection. That’s once we will find out about all the brand new options and see if Apple has found out some magical new function (or AI for that matter).
