Team-BHP - The iPhone Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 5843751)

Need some suggestion folks. My wife and I have been on iPhones for the last 10+ years, usually changing phones once in 3 years or so. Currently i have an iphone 15 ( upgraded from an iphone 12 few months ago), while my wife has an iphone 13 pro max. Like in many households, my wife’s phone is the default camera phone, used for all photography during vacations, birthdays and events, my son’s school assignment videos and almost everything actually. We do not have any other camera at home, so the idea was that one of our phones should ideally have a better camera, hence the iPhone 13 pro max which we bought 3 years ago.

My wife’s niece works in the US and she might be coming over to India in the next 2-3 months, so there is an opportunity to buy an iPhone from the US since some of the variants are way cheaper.

So my question is, should we buy the latest iphone 16 pro max? Is it really worth the huge premium? Apple usually phases out the current generation pro max variants, so not sure if my wife’s niece can get hold of a 15 pro max. We are not photography enthusiasts or anything like that, but a very good camera helps on occasional long shots, portraits, nighttime photography etc.

Either we get the 16 plus ( cause my wife is used to the pro max size now); or look for 15 pro max if its available in the US. Or the most expensive option is to buy the 16 pro max, if its really a huge upgrade over the 16 plus or 15 pro max.

Hi, to answer your question, a 15 Pro would actually be more beneficial in your case. The camera jump hardware-wise would be pronounced from 13 Pro Max to the 15 Pro itself. If you're looking for outright camera hardware prowess, go with the 15 Pro Max. The 16 Pro Max is overkill. It only makes sense if you make a living with a phone (in my opinion) but otherwise, a discounted 15 Pro(Max) would do more good. Plus it's the minimum requirement phone for Apple Intelligence so there is the added benefit of that. Just have a quick check on the prices and buy what suits you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 5843751)

My wife’s niece works in the US and she might be coming over to India in the next 2-3 months, so there is an opportunity to buy an iPhone from the US since some of the variants are way cheaper.

So my question is, should we buy the latest iphone 16 pro max? Is it really worth the huge premium? Apple usually phases out the current generation pro max variants, so not sure if my wife’s niece can get hold of a 15 pro max. We are not photography enthusiasts or anything like that, but a very good camera helps on occasional long shots, portraits, nighttime photography etc.

Judging by your requirements, a 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max would make the most sense; considering that even American retailers would be intent on offloading existing stocks. Hence, there's a very good possibility of both these discontinued variants attracting heavy discounts.

I am think about upgrading my wife's iPhone 12 mini to the iPhone 15 during the upcoming BBD sales. Going by tradition, it should be available for ~50k which is tremendous value for a 15. My wife swears by the mini's form factor, but alas, they don't make em anymore which is a shame.

One thing I am not sure is whether to give it away on exchange or keep it as a backup phone. The battery has degraded to 76% and hardly lasts for a couple of hours. A battery change will cost 9K. Also, we have to save a lightning cable only for this phone. Flipkart is quoting 17K for the phone on exchange.

These iPhones are addictive and it is easy to fall prey to a time-bound mindless upgrade with every launch. I personally think that it is better to upgrade once every 3-4 years because these phones are strong and built well.

It makes sense to upgrade only when one sees a significant differentiation in functionality and features. And they are expensive -one can buy a good second hand car at the price of a brand new iPhone just to add a perspective! In my case I used an iPhone 12 Pro Max for 3 years, only upgrading it last year well after the launch, to the 15 Pro Max on account of the super zoom quality of its fantastic camera. Yes I also keep an iPhone Mini 13 as my secondary phone. I only bought it because I love its form factor. I dont want to let that one go because I dont think we will get that back in a hurry.

I truly wish that ‘Captain Cook’ would decree that there should be an iPhone Mini Pro with a fantastic camera like the Pro Max has - I would buy it like a shot!

As with every release, madness begins. Huge crowds outside BKC Apple store :D

Link

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 5844101)

People who updated their 12 or 12Mini to iOS 18- how is the battery life?

Battery health of my vanilla 12 has reduced from 85% to 81% now after the update. But that was due I guess. It was stuck at 85% for almost 8-9 monthsIIRC. Performance still looks OK.

For reference my phone is exactly 3 years old now. I usually keep my phones for 5 years with 1 battery change at 3-3.5 years mark. Will do the same for this one when I visit Kolkata early next year as it’s considerably cheaper there compared to Bangalore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 5846346)

Anyone noticing faster battery drain on ios 18?
I feel my 15 plus battery is draining quicker after the update with the same usage as before.

I updated my XR to iOS 18, it did drain batter for about 2 days, after that it came back to normal. So do wait for about 48 hours for the OS to learn/optimize for the hardware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oppanna (Post 5847045)

Did anyone face screen going blank after iOS 18 updates? I have been reading a lot of posts in social media about getting green/pink lines and yellow/green display post update.

Is that true?

My XR updated without any issues, and the OS is smooth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 5846346)

Anyone noticing faster battery drain on ios 18?
I feel my 15 plus battery is draining quicker after the update with the same usage as before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg (Post 5846562)

After an update, especially a major OS update it will take a few days for the phone to start behaving normally. This should settle down in a few days.

I’m noticing this too on my 12 Pro which infact has a brand new battery which was replaced just before the OS update a week back!

I also got the below message in the ‘battery’ section, just once though.

It’s been nearing a week now; however, the battery drain isn’t normal per se.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 5846346)

Anyone noticing faster battery drain on ios 18?
I feel my 15 plus battery is draining quicker after the update with the same usage as before.

The battery life infact should improve after iOS 18 because Apple has made changes to the CPU scheduling algortithm and it ramps up more gradually compared to iOS 17 and should result in better battery life.

I guess give it a week or two and it should be okay.