Apple announced its iPhone 16 lineup one year ago, and arguably its tentpole features have been a rare miss for the company. But rumors for the iPhone 17 indicate it should be a strong return to form deserving of an upgrade.
iPhone 16: Three disappointing tentpole features
Every year, Apple’s new iPhone lineup packs a variety of big and small upgrades.
With the iPhone 16 line, Apple put a lot of emphasis on three features in particular:
Camera Control Apple Intelligence and larger Pro displays
There were plenty of other improvements of the iPhone 16 line, but these received prime attention from Apple in its marketing.
Here’s the opening for the official iPhone 16 and 16 Plus announcement:
Apple today announced iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, built for Apple Intelligence, the easy-to-use personal intelligence system that understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant while protecting user privacy. The iPhone 16 lineup also introduces Camera Control, which brings new ways to capture memories, and will help users quickly access visual intelligence to learn about objects or places around them faster than ever before
It’s a similar story with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max announcement:
Apple today introduced iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, featuring Apple Intelligence, larger display sizes, new creative capabilities with innovative pro camera features, stunning graphics for immersive gaming, and more — all powered by the A18 Pro chip. With Apple Intelligence, powerful Apple-built generative models come to iPhone in the easy-to-use personal intelligence system that understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant while protecting user privacy. Camera Control unlocks a fast, intuitive way to tap into visual intelligence and easily interact with the advanced camera system.
The pitch is clear: iPhone 16 is awesome because of Apple Intelligence and Camera Control. And the Pro models add larger displays, plus the A18 Pro which enables better gaming.
But after a year, that pitch has proven a rare miss from Apple.
Apple Intelligence’s most powerful capabilities were delayed, with a launch now expected in spring 2026.
Camera Control was pitched as an advanced feature, but everyone I know finds it most useful as a simple capture button. Rumors indicate Apple plans to strip it down to this basic functionality next year.
Finally, the larger iPhone 16 Pro displays seem to have earned the biggest collective shrug of any screen size change I can remember.
Why iPhone 17 should be a strong return to form for Apple
There’s a lot we already know about Apple’s plans for the iPhone 17 lineup.
What we don’t know is which features Apple’s marketing will prioritize. But I suspect three tentpoles will be:
New designs with the iPhone 17 Air and Pro models Battery life gains in the Pro line Camera upgrades for every model
New designs, extended battery life, and camera improvements are all proven hits with users.
And rumors indicate changes on those three fronts will be pretty substantial.
The ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air offers the kind of exciting brand new design we haven’t had in years.
Even the Pro models will get substantial design updates thanks to new camera layouts, a switch to aluminum, and colors that pop more than usual.
Those same Pro models are expected to pack significant battery improvements, with potential real-world gains of several hours.
And the full iPhone 17 lineup will offer a variety of camera upgrades that, per Mark Gurman, could be “some of the biggest in the device’s history.”
Wrap-up
I own an iPhone 16 Pro, and I’m largely pretty happy with it. By building on the strong foundation of previous models, it’s still objectively a fantastic product—even if Apple overpromised and underdelivered in key areas.
But the iPhone 17 line truly sounds like the update that users have been wanting. Aside from the base model perhaps, every new iPhone 17 looks set to offer the type of improvements that users will happily upgrade for.
One year in, what are your thoughts on the iPhone 16? Do you expect iPhone 17 to be an all-around better sell? Let us know in the comments.
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