I switched from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 16 Pro – here are 5 things I love and 3 disappointments
This Black Friday I managed to get a great deal on a new iPhone 16 Pro. It’s the first new phone I’ve had in years, and it replaced my old iPhone 12 Pro, which was starting to show its age.
After holding out for so long, I have to say it feels Good to have entered the modern era – blazing fast performance, the goodness of Apple Intelligence, silky smooth animations, you name it. But there are also a few things I’m not so happy about – things I never had to deal with on the iPhone 12 Pro. Because while I absolutely love the iPhone 16 Pro, it’s certainly not perfect.
Its use is buttery smooth
Not everyone talks about it, but using the iPhone 16 Pro does soft. I’m not talking about how quickly everything should load – I mean the animations. My iPhone 12 Pro was limited to a 60Hz display, but the iPhone 16 Pro bumps that up to 120Hz, and it feels great.
Swiping between app screens and scrolling through web pages feels so smooth compared to my old phone. And while the 60Hz screen on my old phone was never an issue, I can never go back now that I’m using a faster refresh rate every day (and I know I’m not alone).
It’s not something I can ever adequately explain in text, and you just have to experience it personally to understand how wonderful it feels. Once you do, you’ll love it as much as I do.
The dynamic island
The Dynamic Island has received a lot of criticism since its launch as it never really lived up to its potential. And I agree that it could probably do a little more than it already does. But compared to what I had on the iPhone 12 Pro, it’s an excellent addition.
On my old phone, the notch was a big, bulky bar that really did nothing for me. Sure, I know it’s necessary to hide all the cameras and Face ID sensors, but it takes away a big chunk of your screen that can’t be used in any other way.
On the iPhone 16 Pro, the notch (now a recess) is put to good use, because it can display information from various apps in a clear manner. Even something as simple as checking how much time remains on my timer (regardless of which app I’m using) is a really useful touch. I also love that I can quickly interact with the information hidden within without having to open the companion app. It may not be a groundbreaking feature, but it’s a much better use of the notch than the iPhone 12 Pro offered me.
More screen space
I never really thought of my old iPhone 12 Pro as having chunky, chunky bezels, but the iPhone 16 Pro has slimmed them down even further, making the device’s screen bigger. It doesn’t sound like much, but the extra screen real estate – combined with the smooth 120Hz scrolling – makes consuming content just that much better.
Part of the reason is that, at least for now, I’m using my new phone without a case (more on that later), which means no extra bulk appears on the screen. But I can’t ignore the difference the thinner bezels and larger screen size have made to my enjoyment of the new phone, even if it’s a subtle difference.
Macro photography is brilliant
I’m someone who takes a lot of photos on my iPhone, and I mean it a lot of – my photo library contains 39,201 items at the time of writing. But even though my iPhone has long replaced my DSLR in my daily use, I’ve always been bothered by the iPhone 12 Pro being only average at macro shooting.
But now all that has changed. With the addition of macro photography to recent iPhones, you can get closer to your subject than ever. That’s something I really noticed with the iPhone 16 Pro, and it helped me take photos that just weren’t possible on my old device. Combined with the 5x optical zoom, this is the best phone camera I’ve ever used.
I feel like I’m even less likely to need one of the best DSLR cameras in my life now that I can turn my phone into a real photography tool. They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and in my case that has become even more true.
Genmoji is often exactly what I need
Whatever you think, Apple Intelligence is now part of our world and it was a great addition to my new iPhone (my iPhone 12 Pro wasn’t powerful enough to use it). And now that I have a taste of it, there’s one element in particular that I’ve grown very fond of.
That aspect is Genmoji, Apple’s AI-powered emoji. In any app that includes a text field, just type what you want and Apple Intelligence will prepare a brand new emoji for you to use. I’ve had a lot of fun with it so far, and I love that I can create any emoji I want to perfectly match the moment at hand. It’s especially fun to create new emoji from photos of people I know.
Of course, I wish it worked a little faster, and sometimes it takes a few tries to get exactly the result you want. But overall it’s a great new feature that has me thoroughly impressed with my new phone.
I immediately turned off the always-on display
Yet it is not all good. As soon as I got my new iPhone, the first thing I turned off was the always-on display. I’ve heard the horror stories about iPhone batteries draining and I didn’t want that for myself, especially when there was a risk of my device’s battery aging prematurely and decreasing its maximum capacity.
Other than that, I just don’t need the iPhone’s always-on display. I also have an Apple Watch Series 10, and on that device the Always On Display is extremely useful. Since my watch is almost always within my line of sight, I can simply look down to see the time without having to raise my wrist. That’s a good example of where the Always On Display is valuable.
But my iPhone is usually in my pocket, where the always-on screen doesn’t help me in any way. Even if my phone is on my desk, it’s still easier to just use my Watch to check the time. It’s an unnecessary feature on my iPhone and I don’t regret disabling it.
Attention butterfingers
I’m not currently using a case for my iPhone 16 Pro, mainly because I’m unsure about which one to buy (finding the best iPhone case can be surprisingly difficult). During this time I’ve come to realize that a naked iPhone is dangerously slippery, and there have been several occasions where I’ve come dangerously close to sending it hurtling to the ground (thankfully no disasters have occurred yet).
My iPhone 12 Pro also got lost quite easily, and as a result I had it in a case from almost day one. But over the next four years, I had hoped that Apple had done something to make its phones more grippy. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Ceramic Shield will help, but I don’t want to have to rely on it saving my phone if extra grip would keep it from falling.
The spherical camera bump
Another thing I noticed from temporarily going caseless is that the iPhone 16 Pro’s camera bump is huge enormous. When I rest the phone on a table, it noticeably wobbles back and forth when I tap. It’s something that was never an issue with my previous phone and the much slimmer camera protrusion.
I’m afraid all that close contact with surfaces can’t be good for the camera lenses. That’s something that will be alleviated by wrapping my phone in a case, which should provide a little more protection around the camera. But for now, it’s a worrying side effect of increasing lens sizes on the newer phone.