YouBet said:

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My phone doesn't show cycle count. Interesting.

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Mine doesn't either, Iphone 11 Pro Max at 74% battery health.

I usually go for the Pro but this time I think I'll get the regular 16. I'm coming from a 14.

Serious question for the nerdery regarding iPhone 16 and 16 pro...

According to AT&T, either the 128 gb 16 or 128 gb 16 Pro is "free" with my trade-in. I'm getting a16 Pro for the 5X zoom.

It's also time to get my daughter a phone. I also have a trade-in for her to use. My plan was to get her a 15 for the new charge cable. Why would I not get her the 16 Pro? Is there something I am missing? Why use her trade-in for a 16 instead of a 16 Pro?

TIA.

YouBet said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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YouBet said:

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Still rocking my XR which is now pushing 7 years old with 83% battery life.

However, it won't take iOS 18 apparently so I've been planning to upgrade to the 16.

For those unaware, if you care about the new AI software, which will be beta and half-assed at launch with the 16, you won't be able to use it unless you at least have a 15.

I don't care about AI but I'm sure most do.

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18 will work on the XR. Don't know how well but it is on the list.

https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-18/

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Well that has changed then. Good to know. Still probably due for a new one though.

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I'm probably going to replace my XS but will wait until at least Black Friday, maybe the first of next year. I've got a Samsung on a business line that I absolutely hate. Not so much the Sammy but Android in general. Going to keep the XS and trade in the Samsung if I can.

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Why would I not get her the 16 Pro? Is there something I am missing? Why use her trade-in for a 16 instead of a 16 Pro?

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No reason, unless you think you'd move from AT&T in the next 3 years and have to eat the price difference.

Or if, as a younger girl, she just thinks the color options in the regular are "cuter". Which I can't imagine mattering if it's in a case.

Thanks. That's my take as well. We have no problem with AT&T and are already on the unlimited plan because we use the hot spot for our home internet.

arrow said:

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Serious question for the nerdery regarding iPhone 16 and 16 pro...

According to AT&T, either the 128 gb 16 or 128 gb 16 Pro is "free" with my trade-in. I'm getting a16 Pro for the 5X zoom.

It's also time to get my daughter a phone. I also have a trade-in for her to use. My plan was to get her a 15 for the new charge cable. Why would I not get her the 16 Pro? Is there something I am missing? Why use her trade-in for a 16 instead of a 16 Pro?

TIA.

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I'm not seeing any great deals on any iPhones right now. Everything I am seeing is "up to" trade in deals. Both of my kids have the XR, and cracked or scratched screen gives about $25 for the phone. So makes sure you are going through the screens to see what your trades are actually worth.

I'm really hopefully that some better deals are coming with this release.. at least 1 of the XR is in rough shape with the volume up and silent switches on the side no longer functioning.

I've got a 12 mini and a 12 to trade-in. It looks like they qualify for full price trade if I choose 128 GB models.

My 15 Pro Max is at 93% capacity on 225 cycles. I haven't noticed any major difference in battery life.

I am glad I went with the pro last generation because I am going to keep it 3 years and the 15 pro's are the only older phones getting all of the on-device AI stuff that Apple is launching over the next several months.

If you are trying to game the carrier rebates, but have busted trade-ins, the easiest thing is to buy a refurbed model and trade that in.

You can buy an iPhone 12 for $350 from Amazon, and ATT will rebate you $1000 on an iPhone 16 Pro.

You're probably not going to fall into a better deal than that any time soon if you are wanting a 16.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPhone-12-128GB-Blue/dp/B08PNXVB6B/

cjsag94 said:

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arrow said:

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Serious question for the nerdery regarding iPhone 16 and 16 pro...

According to AT&T, either the 128 gb 16 or 128 gb 16 Pro is "free" with my trade-in. I'm getting a16 Pro for the 5X zoom.

It's also time to get my daughter a phone. I also have a trade-in for her to use. My plan was to get her a 15 for the new charge cable. Why would I not get her the 16 Pro? Is there something I am missing? Why use her trade-in for a 16 instead of a 16 Pro?

TIA.

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I'm not seeing any great deals on any iPhones right now. Everything I am seeing is "up to" trade in deals. Both of my kids have the XR, and cracked or scratched screen gives about $25 for the phone. So makes sure you are going through the screens to see what your trades are actually worth.

I'm really hopefully that some better deals are coming with this release.. at least 1 of the XR is in rough shape with the volume up and silent switches on the side no longer functioning.

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That's not surprising though. The XR is ancient by mobile phone standards. I'm surprised you are seeing any trade in deal at all.

I've had my 13 pro for about 3 years now. I used to be the type to go get an upgrade every 2 years, but I just am not super motivated to go get a new phone any time soon. Battery and camera both work fine. I'd have stayed on the 10R if the battery in mine didn't go to crap.

However, seeing the specs on the new 16 Pro do make it a tempting proposition. I'm just less excited about dropping $1000 on a phone than I used to be.

My iPhone 12 Mini continues to be a great phone. I'm only ready to upgrade for two reasons:

1. I want to be done with lightning cords. USB-C is the way.
2. 5X optical zoom will be great for archery hunting.

arrow said:

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My iPhone 12 Mini continues to be a great phone. I'm only ready to upgrade for two reasons:

1. I want to be done with lightning cords. USB-C is the way.
2. 5X optical zoom will be great for archery hunting.

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How much is the Apple iBow accessory? I bet each iArrow is $1,000.

ooh they could make a few pennies with air tag nocks.

T-MOBILE user. Took my son's scratched 12 into the store and left with a 15 paying just the sales tax.

arrow said:

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Serious question for the nerdery regarding iPhone 16 and 16 pro...

According to AT&T, either the 128 gb 16 or 128 gb 16 Pro is "free" with my trade-in. I'm getting a16 Pro for the 5X zoom.

It's also time to get my daughter a phone. I also have a trade-in for her to use. My plan was to get her a 15 for the new charge cable. Why would I not get her the 16 Pro? Is there something I am missing? Why use her trade-in for a 16 instead of a 16 Pro?

TIA.

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I wanna lay this down plain and simple as an Apple fanatic.

This generation of iPhones rendered all iPhones before it Obsolete. The event was underwhelming because everything big was announced in June which is the Apple's AI models called Apple Intelligence.

Apple had to redesign the chip architecture to incorporate their large AI models so anything under the iPhone 15 Pro will not support locally run AI.

Since this is first set of iPhones to be built for AI. The difference in computing power between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro is small because the iPhone 16 needed to handle all the power.

So, iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro? It all depends on if you want a 5X Zoom camera and the ability to film in 4K 120fps. Other than that buy the iPhone 16. Its has everything most people need and it's future proofed for the new AI stuff.

Currently the AI is in beta and won't release till October. I've been using it. Siri is so much better, but there's a lot of features missing and it's gonna be a slow rollout for all of the AI stuff.


https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence/

I'm shock so few people care about 60 vs 120Hz screen. Maybe my eyes are sensitive to it, but that alone makes the non-pros a no go for me. I'd rather go Android if I had to go with a cheaper phone.

jja79 said:

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T-MOBILE user. Took my son's scratched 12 into the store and left with a 15 paying just the sales tax.

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I've been at at&t customer for 20 years, and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever paid for an iphone. I get a new one on average every 3 years with their trade in deals. That interval has grown some over time since the phones have gotten more expensive, the carriers are splitting it up into more and more months. It used to be 24, then it was 30, my latest one is 36.

Every carrier does free trades ins at some point, and that's when I'll get a new one after the previous one is paid off, so I don't have to pay any balances.

I currently have like 9 of 36 months left on my iphone 13, and after that, the next time ATT does a trade in deal, I'll get the new one.

Now, obviously those trade ins are usually the base model, and I do usually upgrade to the next hard drive size up, which may be $100 or so, which ends up being $5 a month or whatever, which is negligible.

And of course, the sales tax is always due up front.

This is the one thing that I miss about traveling to Oregon. I would always upgrade our phones when I'd visit Portland. NO SALES TAX

This. I've got the 13 pro and around 6-8 months left until it's paid for through AT&T. Then I'll likely be upgrading to a 17 pro at no cost aside from sales tax

Just pay cash directly from the manufacturer

Looking for feedback/opinions…

I've got a 13 that is paid for. We are legacy Sprint customers, now on T-Mobile. Our plan isn't the top tier T-Mobile plan, so free phone upgrades are few and far between.

I can upgrade to a 15 plus or a 15 pro for free. My 13 battery has been questionable lately. It's at 85%, and sometimes when I plug it in or mag charge it, it doesn't charge at all (my original Apple mag charger doesn't work at all, an Anker one works fine, and my two in one mag charger works sometimes). I literally put it on the mag charger and nothing happens (even if I take off the case). This is a new problem that's come up the last month or so. I think it's possible the wired charger works intermittently because something is in the port.

Tempted by the 15 plus because I'm old and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be, and I like the idea of the bigger battery. Hesitant on the 15 pro because of all the complaints, and the 15 pro max isn't a free option.

I don't think I'll make good use of the AI software, in part because my Mac and iPad are super old and will not be compatible with it.

Thoughts from those of you with either model?

If battery life and screen size are most important to you the 15 plus is a great option. Keep in mind though that the 15 and 15 plus will not get some of the new on-device AI features that the 15 pro and 15 pro max will have along with the 16 lineup. These may not matter to you at all though.

Proposition Joe said:

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People confuse "no cost" with "leasing over time".

You're still paying for those upgrades, they ain't giving them out for free.

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And those costs are higher than just buying it outright....

Not at all a tech expert for Apple products, but I'm pretty much in the same exact boat. Was a Sprint customer since early high school (early 2000's?). Now with T-Mobile. I've had a 13 Pro since it came out but my battery life is maxing out at 84% as of 5 minutes ago. My MagSafe battery pack (which I just learned was discontinued by Apple) sucks now too. There was no "free" upgrade or promo like back in the day that I could see on the T-Mobile site and the lease costs as mentioned above are still in place.

Either way, I said 'F it.' and went for a 16 Pro. Put in the order on Friday. Don't see myself using the AI tools whenever it's fully in production, but whatever.

WES2006AG said:

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If battery life and screen size are most important to you the 15 plus is a great option. Keep in mind though that the 15 and 15 plus will not get some of the new on-device AI features that the 15 pro and 15 pro max will have along with the 16 lineup. These may not matter to you at all though.

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Yeah, that's why I mentioned I don't think I would make good use of it (because I know it won't be compatible with the 15/15 plus). I do type emails on my phone, but they aren't work emails (just random personal stuff). Pretty basic, and if I have a long one to type, I do it on my computer (which is old and won't be compatible with the AI features anyway).

I can get a "free" phone, but only if I trade in my existing device. And it's actually "free" in the form of 24 bill credits (which is how I got the 13 - although, they did screw up the credits for a good 4 months before they straightened it out - tried to say they never received my trade in).

Interesting that you are also having mag problems with your 13. I'm ticked that my original Apple mag charger is no longer working. That thing was expensive!

I've never seen a compelling reason to buy my phone outright from the manufacturer. I would if there was a discount. Maybe there is a fee I'm missing?

arrow said:

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I've never seen a compelling reason to buy my phone outright from the manufacturer. I would if there was a discount. Maybe there is a fee I'm missing?

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This is where I'm at too. I always understood the "fee" that I was paying for was that I would be locked into that carrier to utilize the monthly credits.

arrow said:

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I've never seen a compelling reason to buy my phone outright from the manufacturer. I would if there was a discount. Maybe there is a fee I'm missing?

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I bought my XR outright from Apple. Might have purchased another phone from Apple, too, but I'm certain on the XR. Got a great trade in on maybe a 6S (can't recall exactly) and there wasn't a good option to upgrade through my carrier at the time.

I would much rather purchase outright than pay in monthly installments. But if an upgrade is "free", I'll go for it because that cost is basically already baked into the cell phone plan (ie, you're paying for it anyway).

I will say dealing with Sprint on my last "free" upgrade was a real PITA (another reason to just pay outright and be done with it).