Apple not giving the iPhone 16 this one crucial feature is another example of its worst habit

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Apple iPhone 16 Review
(Image credit: Future)

After 5 joyous years arsenic an Android user, curiosity sewage nan champion of maine – I’ve been utilizing an iPhone 15 for nan past week aliases truthful to re-immerse myself successful iOS and connection stronger contributions to our iPhone coverage.

Overall, I’ve been impressed by past year’s base-model iPhone. A batch has surely changed since I parted pinch my iPhone 5S successful 2019, and successful nan 10 years betwixt nan motorboat of nan iPhone 5S and iPhone 15, Apple has improved nan iPhone successful astir each way, from nan surface size (4 inches to 6.1 inches) to nan artillery life (a mates of hours to astir each day) and connectivity (USB-C!).

Regrettably, location remains 1 point that Apple did not amended successful nan decade of improvement betwixt my erstwhile and coming iPhone, and it’s not been fixed pinch nan caller iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus either.

In nan world of Android, 120Hz is nan caller normal for flagship and high-end telephone displays, while fund options are commonly equipped pinch 120Hz aliases 90Hz displays. These days, 60Hz displays are nan sphere of tablets and nan cheapest fund phones. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are, by modern standards, complete oddballs.

iPhone 13 Pro

Apple introduced its ProMotion show exertion connected nan iPhone 13 Pro (Image credit: TechRadar)

The 60Hz debacle has been a attraction of statement present astatine TechRadar for years now; "Please, Apple – don't do this to nan iPhone 15" wrote Managing Editor for Mobile Computing Roland Moore-Colyer successful nan run-up to nan phone's motorboat backmost successful 2023, and Phones Editor Axel Metz recovered that 120Hz changed his full outlook connected iPhones erstwhile he switched to nan iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple is much than tin of producing precocious refresh complaint telephone displays, arsenic nan ProMotion displays connected nan iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max demonstrate. In my experience, nan smaller nan screen, nan much nan use of a higher refresh complaint is felt, arsenic your oculus has little abstraction to activity pinch to accommodate jagged motion.

To me, this is simply nan astir egregious illustration of Apple’s famously blunt merchandise stratification strategy.

There is simply nary personification use to fitting iPhones pinch 60Hz displays, and nan Samsung Galaxy S24 shows america that a institution tin present a flagship telephone pinch a 120Hz show for $799, nan aforesaid value arsenic nan iPhone 16. This partially counters arguments centered connected constituent value aliases manufacturing costs.

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So, why does Apple proceed to waste iPhones pinch slow refresh complaint panels? To me, this is simply nan astir egregious illustration of Apple’s famously blunt merchandise stratification strategy, a considered prime to thrust customers towards nan much costly iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

It’s a shame, excessively – I’ve been different impressed by nan iPhone 15, and our iPhone 16 review recovered that Apple’s latest flagship brings nan guidelines exemplary person than ever to its Pro counterpart. Understandably, nan modular and Pro iPhones request to beryllium separated somehow, but here, Apple continues to enforce region by limiting nan low-end exemplary alternatively than enhancing its premium offering.

This is simply a regrettably communal Apple tactic. The nonstop aforesaid rumor applies to nan iPad Air and iPad Pro, and nan cheapest MacBook Pro is still sold pinch a puny 8GB of RAM – decisions that thrust group towards much costly options.

I’m acold from an Apple hater – I’m a longtime iPad personification and converted from Windows to Mac past twelvemonth – but this benignant of behaviour is my prime for Apple’s worst bad habit. Apple has made its sanction by reasoning differently, but erstwhile it comes to refresh rates, I’m acrophobic everyone other is right.

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Jamie is simply a Mobile Computing Staff Writer for TechRadar, responsible for covering phones and tablets. He’s been tech-obsessed from a young property and has written for various news and civilization publications. Jamie graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London successful 2024 pinch a bachelor’s grade successful Journalism. Since starting retired arsenic a euphony blogger successful 2020, he’s worked connected section news stories, finance waste and acquisition magazines, and multimedia governmental features. He brings a emotion for integer publicity and user exertion to TechRadar. Outside of nan TechRadar office, Jamie tin beryllium recovered binge-watching tech reviews, DJing successful section venues astir London, aliases challenging friends to a crippled of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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