“There are things known and there are things unknown and in between are the doors of perception.” — Aldous Huxley

I’m Huxley Westemeier (26’) and welcome to “The Sift,” a weekly opinions column focused on the impacts and implications of new technologies.

(Interactive image by Thomas Chen)

The iPhone. The first phone, music player, and computer in one package. Apple’s 2007 product took the world by storm, putting the internet in everyone’s pocket. However, as revolutionary as the first iPhone was, later generations have become increasingly stagnant. Yearly refreshes that used to boast entirely new designs or double battery life have been replaced by minor camera updates and small boosts in processing power. Monday’s Glowtime event wasn’t any different. Past the swooping drone shots and shiny product pictures, the core elements of what makes an iPhone an iPhone haven’t changed. It’s still a phone, music player, and computer- albeit one with a camera update and a boost in processing power.

Apple continues the naming scheme that started with the iPhone 12 in 2020, with four separate iPhone 16 models. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are priced at $799/$899. Each inherits features from last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, such as the Action Button that replaces the mute switch and offers customization options. It also has a new A18 chip that powers the upcoming Apple Intelligence features and is 30% faster than last year. There’s also the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, aimed at ‘professionals’ and priced to match at $999/$1299. Their Ultrawide cameras now have 48 megapixels, resulting in a four times higher resolution (and twice the file size). There are other camera updates, the biggest being a new “Capture” button for all iPhone 16 models that acts similar to a DSLR: press lightly to focus, swipe, and click to adjust settings and take a photo. A couple extra hours of battery life was added to all iPhone 16s.

The Apple Watch also received a minor redesign this year for the 10th anniversary. It’s 9% thinner, charges 80% in 30 minutes, has a slightly larger screen, and is (slightly) more water resistant at the same $399 starting price. It has new health features, including a depth tracker for divers and sleep apnea detection (which has not received FDA approval yet).

Perhaps the most surprising announcement was that last year’s AirPods Pro 2nd Generation users can take a five-minute Hearing Test on an iPhone. This test allows Apple’s AirPods to act as clinical-grade over-the-counter hearing aids. Standard hearing aids can be expensive (up to $3,000) with limited battery life, so Apple’s comparably reasonably-priced headphones ($249) offer a fantastic alternative.

On paper, all these upgrades sound like new features. But consider this: I recently purchased a brand-new iPhone 12 for $200 from my carrier. After working this summer, I wanted an upgrade from my iPhone XR but didn’t feel that the latest iPhones justified the price. Sure, the iPhone 12 is four years old, but it still has nearly the same design and features as the newest phones. It has the same square edges, a two-camera system, and a snappy processor. Is it worth paying nearly $1000 more for a slightly better camera, faster processor, a couple of hours of battery life, and brighter screen?

That’s the problem with this year’s new products: in a vacuum, they’re beautiful devices, but last year’s (and even 2020’s) products were equally excellent devices that still hold up. Yes, Apple’s September releases are shiny–and they are the ‘newest’–but customers need to consider how ‘shiny’ they need their devices to be.

I’m still perfectly content with my iPhone 12.