I don’t have a full fledged review of the iPhone 16. Many others have done a fantastic job at that. But I do want to share a few quick thoughts on how the new camera fits into my life in a very practical way. 

I’ve been using the device, an iPhone 16 Pro Max in Natural Titanium, since Friday. It did take me about 3 hours to transfer over from my previous phone, an iPhone 14 Pro. But once that was done I eagerly wanted to find out what I could do.

First, like always, I jumped around inside the phone trying to figure out what was new. I tested the camera, the new camera styles, the camera button, and tried to get a sense for what was different. I also tried to figure out if I could trigger Apple intelligence, but it’s mostly unavailable at the moment (I am on a beta so I’m trying out a few things, but that’s not technically public yet). 

For me, an amateur photographer who barely knew how to use the power of my previous phone, I can’t say that much has changed in a way that I’ll truly be able to capture (yes, intentional), but there’s always a universal truth for me and new phones. 

Every 2-3 years, when I finally upgrade my device I find that I have a 6-8 month period where I take more photos of my family, along with the occassional landscape. Something about having that new hardware inspires me to go on a photography binge. It’s a bit unnecessary, I could take pictures that were just as good before. But it often feels like the quality is just a little better, even psychologically, and frankly that’s enough. 

I’m thankful now, as my kids get older, that I went through bursts of photo capturing over the last decade. I’ve got some great pictures of them, and if nothing else part of the excuse I tell myself is that I need a new device to inspire me to capture a bunch of cool pictures all over again.

There’s something else too, beyond the improved quality. With photography, at least the kind I’m interested in, speed of capture matters. 

Also, the contrast between what I can catch in low to medium light today and what I could do years ago is crazy. I tested portrait mode with my daughter in some close-to-golden-hour lighting. The results were astonishing. I was able to snap quickly and often, capturing dozens of bokehesque shots of her in different poses.

Something about kids, and most people in general frankly, is smiles are hard. Most of us instantly put on a specific expression when facing a camera, and the results don’t capture the true essense of who we are. I’ve always struggled with this for myself in photos, and in taking pictures of others.

With my kids, and in group photos of them alongside their friends, I’ve employed a bunch of tricks to try and see their true smiles. When that happens those photos are truly magical.

So, with my seven year old daughter, instead of asking her to smile, I simply started talking to her. We had a chat. She knew the camera was rolling, so to speak, but she engaged with me in some silly banter, and I frantically snapped the camera button dozens of times. The result? I was able to catch something that I’ll treasure for years to come. 

That’s why I’ will keep upgrading my phone for the foreseeable future. When she was little I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t take nearly instant blurry-background pictures of my kids in mid expression, with the real smiles on their face as they laugh at a silly joke, or move in the natural motion of a kid in mid-play. But the fact that I can do that a little better each year, that is magical. 

Beyond that, I’m thankful for a great battery again, and after two years on a normal iPhone size (at least normal for 2024) I’m loving having a massive screen again. The 6.9” screen feels great for watching things. Yes, I’m one of those suckers who watches movies on my phone at night. 

The camera control button is interesting, but as Gruber pointed out (and frankly I think he was a little generous), it’s not as good as I’d hope in having a picture ready to take the instant I pull the phone from my pocket.

Years ago, as a teenager, I bought a digital point and shoot camera with a 20x zoom (or something like that). It was some sort of Olympus camera from Costco. I loved that thing. I’d fiddle with it, take photos, try to capture sunsets, and generally geeked out with what to me was a crazy expensive piece of hardware (about $500 in 2003-2004). I remember upgrading the camera from a previous one, and counting the time in seconds that it took to load up. From the time I had the camera in front of me, to the time it was ready to capture a picture, was about 5 seconds. I knew at the time that was ridiculous, but it was as good as I could get. 

Now, of course, we’re far from those days. It’s sooo much improved in time-to-first-photo. But still I can’t help but think it could be faster. 

There’s either some period of time where I’ll need to get used to the new camera capture button on the iPhone, or I’ll just have to accept it’s a little finicky. What I’d hoped for, a button I could literally press as I aimed the camera upward, a movement I sometimes wish to do in less than a second, that doesn’t seem to be what we’re getting with this button. I’ll keep trying though, and report back if I figure it out.