Last year, I experienced my first iPhone launch cycle at Engadget, and was engrossed by the frenzy. It felt like I wasn’t a respectable member of the tech world if I didn’t have at least one shiny new piece of technology. So I went to an Apple Store on launch weekend for the iPhone 15 and put in an offer to buy one. While I waited my turn, I idly played with the display model. Compared to the iPhone 11, my enthusiasm faded. The bright grid of apps, the softly rounded corners, the one button on the right, the two buttons and toggles on the left… the two phones were the same. Sure, the pill-shaped part on the screen was new, but so what?
Instead of splurging, I walked out of the store with my old phone. A year later, with this week’s iPhone 16 event approaching, upgrading my phone wasn’t really on my mind. I was more interested in the real-time transcription features I needed to cover the event.
But then Apple announced some brand new features for the iPhone 16. Rumors had it that a DSLR-like focus button (now called Camera Controls) would only be on the Pro models, but now every iPhone announced this year has this nifty new feature. And the Action Button from the 15 Pro is now on the base model, too. Plus, there’s a new “Fusion Camera” that pairs a 48MP sensor with a 2x telephoto lens. We’re not sure what that actually means, but anything that helps you take better cityscape shots is a plus.
Of course, the reason for this new button is likely to act as an interface for Visual Intelligence, due for release in October, Apple’s AI-powered feature that interprets the real world through the lens of Apple Intelligence. Given shareholders’ insistence on including AI talk in everything, it’s no surprise that Apple’s best-selling product has all the tools it needs to fully embrace the technology. AI isn’t a necessity for me, but two new buttons? And one that looks like it’ll be pretty cool? That’s enough to make me want to upgrade.
I’m not a big shopper. I wear a 6-year-old t-shirt, I have 7 pairs of shoes, and I still carry an iPhone 11. I’m not necessarily proud of these facts. The experience of buying new things often leaves me cold, especially when the things I already have are still working fine.
Every iPhone I’ve replaced has been for good reason: After three years, my iPhone 3GS battery stopped holding a charge, and after about the same amount of time, my iPhone 7 started to slow down to the point where I’d forget what I was trying to do before opening an app.
There used to be a lot of conspiracy theories about Apple intentionally building planned obsolescence into its phones, but I think a more plausible explanation is that battery and chip technology just wasn’t as good as it is now. With the release of iOS 17, Apple stopped supporting feature updates for the iPhone 8, but security updates were released as recently as last month, meaning I’ve been using it normally for nearly seven years now (I have some family members who have iPhone 8s, but I’m not planning on upgrading anytime soon).
My iPhone 11 out of its case. It’s still pretty shiny. (Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget)
I got my iPhone 11 at the beginning of 2020, and four and a half years later it’s still a perfectly usable device. I play games on it every day, kill time on Reddit, keep in touch with friends and family in their own way, and take some pretty decent photos of tall buildings and overhead power lines. If you rely heavily on navigation, the battery probably won’t last a full day, but that’s not a big deal for me. I have plenty of power banks left over to last my phone, but it won’t last forever.
The new iPhone 16 will cost $799, the same price as the iPhone 15. It comes in a new ultramarine color, a sort of purplish royal blue that’s very appealing. It’s exactly that kind of wasteful, consumerist frivolity that induces that post-shopping blues. But it’s pretty pretty, too. Admittedly, we’ll never see that deep blue-hour hue in person. I’ll put it in its case as soon as I get this new phone and leave it there until I upgrade, which will probably be around 2030.
Catch up on all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone 16 event!
