The iPhone 16 Pro could fix the only reason I switched to the iPhone 15 Pro Max
There are only a few weeks left until what is expected to be a bundle of exciting new iPhone 16 smartphones, and if the rumors are true, I may be able to make the switch.
I’m not talking about switching from Android to iOS. As a smartphone tester, I have a habit of carrying several phones of all kinds at the same time. But only one phone gets my personal number and is my main device.
For almost a year, that was an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Carrying around a 6.7-inch cell phone is a big deal for me. While I appreciate the huge Super Retina XDR display, I always found it too big for my everyday use.
Until last year’s iPhone 15 range, there was no compelling reason for me to choose a Pro Max version over a Pro version. They were essentially the same device aside from screen size (a few extra pixels, but not a higher resolution) and a bigger battery. The latter was usually a zero-sum game though, as a bigger screen consumes battery life faster, so battery life was usually nearly the same on Pro and Pro Max models.
With the 6.3-inch iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple has chosen to include tetraprism technology only in its largest and most expensive phone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Tetraprism technology is a bit similar to the periscope technology that Samsung used to build 10x optical zoom into the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the tetraprism doesn’t combine a prism with as much distance from the sensor. Instead, it reflects light from the lens back and forth through a prism, adding virtual distance and increasing the optical zoom before it reaches the sensor. On the iPhone 15 Pro Max, that means 5x optical zoom.
Size matters
As an amateur photographer, I believe in optical zoom. Digital zoom is fun and sometimes useful, but for clarity and visual truth, optical zoom is the better choice. Combined with a good 12-megapixel or higher sensor and powerful computational image processing, the powerful optical zoom of a smartphone camera can produce impressive results: photos that stand up to scrutiny, unlike digital and AI-powered zoom.
I was spoiled by Samsung’s 10x zoom, even though Samsung paired it with a rather mediocre sensor. Subsequent Ultras reduced the optical zoom power to 5x but increased the sensor size significantly, meaning much more detail and the ability to pick out objects in the distance as if you had a larger zoom.
When you have a 10x optical zoom, it’s definitely difficult to switch back to 3x, so I switched to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The larger and heavier (221 grams versus 187 grams of the 15 Pro) device took some getting used to – it just fits in most jeans pockets – but I got used to it.
An easier choice
As the iPhone 16 series’ expected launch date of September 10 approaches, I realize I may have to make a new decision.
According to recent rumors, Apple will use the LG Inoteck Tetraprism lens, first used on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, in both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro. There’s no indication that Apple will increase the optical distance beyond 5x, but if it combines this with a 48MP sensor with pixel binning (i.e. 4 pixels are combined for each pixel in the final photo), it could have enough resolution to act like a 10x optical zoom.
Of course, the additional, stronger zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro means it should be on par with the iPhone 16 Pro Max on all counts except screen size and battery, in which case the decision might be simple: I switch back to the smaller phone and give my wallet a break.
On the other hand, what if the iPhone 16 Pro Max is super thin? … and I love that bigger screen …
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