This morning, at 5 a.m. PT/8 a.m. ET, Apple officially opened preorders for the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. When I went to bed last night, I had successfully not set up a preorder ahead of time and fell asleep proud of myself for not having bought the shiny new iPhone.
However, 20 minutes after preorders went live today, I caved. But I didn’t get the highest-end iPhone 16 Pro Max or the smaller, but equally capable iPhone 16 Pro. I didn’t even get the iPhone 16 Plus for its bigger screen and (likely) excellent battery life. Instead, I preordered a base model iPhone 16 for the most ridiculous reasons.
Why I preordered the iPhone 16
As someone who writes about phones for a living, I always want the best of the best. If there’s an Ultra phone available, I’m on it. If there’s a Pro version of a phone, I’m there. I like having the best cameras, the nicest displays, and the most features, and that’s why I typically carry phones like the Google Pixel 9 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Naturally, I’ve been using an iPhone 15 Pro Max as one of my daily phones since it launched last year.
Based on that, it would only make sense for me to preorder the iPhone 16 Pro or the iPhone 16 Pro Max. So, why did I go for the regular iPhone 16 instead?
One of the main reasons is completely silly and unreasonable. The iPhone 16 Pro is a very premium and well-made smartphone, but I find its design so boring. It’s effectively the same design we’ve had since the iPhone 13 Pro, and I’m tired of it. The camera design hasn’t changed, the colors are as drab as can be, and there’s nothing visually exciting about it.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 looks phenomenal. The new camera design is simple and fun, the frosted glass back felt outstanding during my hands-on time with it, and this year’s colors are nothing short of amazing. Teal and Pink are both gorgeous, but I ultimately went for Ultramarine. It’s a beautiful blue and purple combo and hands down one of the best iPhone colors I’ve seen in years.
On a more practical note, I’m also tired of big phones. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s titanium design makes it much more usable than the stainless steel iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it’s still a very big gadget — and I’ve felt it after using it all these months. The prospect of switching to something so small and light with the iPhone 16 excites me.
Changing priorities
Of course, switching from last year’s Pro Max iPhone to this year’s base model will come with some downsides. I’m going to miss out on the telephoto camera. I won’t have nearly as large of a display. I’ll need to put up with a 60Hz refresh rate instead of a 120Hz one.
Those are all legitimate drawbacks I’ll need to put up with. Maybe I’ll find a way to deal with them, and they won’t be an issue. Perhaps I’ll find the switch too jarring and return my iPhone 16 for a Pro model. I’m not sure how it’s going to shake out just yet, and that’s part of what makes this preorder so silly. However, I also think it’s indicative of a couple of important things.
For one, the gap between the base model iPhone and the Pro is smaller than ever. My iPhone 16 will have the Action button, the new Camera Control, the Dynamic Island, and the same 48MP primary camera as the 16 Pro. The biggest things I’m missing are the telephoto camera, the upgraded ultrawide camera, a 120Hz screen, and … that’s about it.
Secondly, I think I’m at a point where I want something different out of my smartphone. Joe from a few years ago wouldn’t have even considered buying the base iPhone over the Pro. But this year, when I was looking at Apple’s website, I couldn’t help but think how much I loved the iPhone 16’s colors and light design and how little I cared about a telephoto camera or more megapixels for my ultrawide shooter.
Will this all be a failed experiment and a bad idea? It very well could be! But right now, I just know I’m excited to get my small, light, and blue iPhone in the mail in a few days — and I think that’s OK.