Firstly we should ask why we would like to change mini?
If larger screen size, battery time or USB-C is a key factor then answer is simple.
However not so simple in terms of:
- display quality: based on users feedback it can be worse than in iPhone 15 Pro and 15 (brightness, contrast, angle and tint). Every iPhone 16, 15, 14 in store had a red tint (except iPhone 16 Pro) which does not occur on two iPhone 12 mini we had.
- photo quality (camera sensor, lens and focal length) which can be in some cases much worse than you expected. Apple migrated to 48 Mpx sensors some time ago and released "Macro" mode in iPhone 16 (Pro and non Pro) but I did not suppose that pictures can be worse than in my old 12 mini and even iPhone 6 (I took a lot of simple shots of items so close distance is important but they are not a macro shots). iPhone 16 and 16 Pro make noisy pictures (Macro disabled). I made the same shots with iPhone 15 and result was drastically better (more natural). iPhone 16 pics are ok when you do not zoom a picture.
Explanation:
For the first “Desert Titanium” iPhone, we took over 1000 photos and videos in the desert. Take a deep dive into what’s new — and why it’s close to the last of its kind.
www.lux.camera
To conclude:
1. I did not expect such
serious image quality regression (in some aspects) versus old iPhones especially last year model iPhone 15:
- camera sensor pixel noise (visible when you shot close ups) and I do not buy an iPhone to tweak photo settings (to workaround an issue like in some cheap Asus phone);
- increased focal length (it is worse with each new iPhone release) so user cannot focus on the object from the close distance and need to turn on digital zoom (Macro mode) which leads to drastic pixel noise so it is a dead loop;
2. HW/SW issues:
- blue hot pixels in iPhone 16 Pro and 15 Pro (possibly camera sensor has too large manufacturing tolerance)
- significant OLED panel variation dependent on panel supplier (Samsung vs LG) and from model to model (15 Pro vs 16 Pro)
- touch button issues
3. Drastic difference between iPhone 16 Pro vs 16 display white tone quality (in 16 Pro white is not yellow and display does not have a red tint) and display refresh (90-120 Hz vs 60 Hz) when scrolling. I can live with 60 Hz (less power) but the diffence is noticeable (for static picture it does not matter).
4. I sold my 12 mini because I expected that 16 and 16 Pro are not worse. I have never expected that:
- I can waste so much time in store to check / compare iPhone models between new and old ones so Apple shopping experience might be worse than selecting Android phone
- all these reviewer and users complaints about lack of innovation might be so real
- chinese smartphone can be better than iPhones in many terms
- Samsung S24 will be more handy than iPhone 16 and Samsung UI fast as iOS (they made a giant step)
5. Design chaos:
- colors (they dropped possibly best selling colors like "White" in iPhone 15 and create color palette for teens... that still prefer Xiaomi/Redmi/OnePlus). Also they dropped beautiful "Space Gray" known from iPhone 6.
- adding / changing physical capacitive buttons when they start to promote AI capabilities
Now I know why Warren Buffett sell Apple stock...
