A phone display is much more intimate
Swiping up in 60 Hz hurts my eyes. | Image credit — Apple
And you know what completely ruins the illusion of a fast smartphone? A display that makes it look like you’re watching a slideshow. I’m not exaggerating either: my eyes almost hurt when I have to use a 60 Hz phone display. It’s just one of those things you can’t go back to after having spent some time using a better alternative.
60 Hz holds back the other upgrades
60 Hz cowboy shrimp just isn’t good enough. | Image credit — Apple
I don’t want to be brazen and claim that a 60 Hz display is a deal-breaker for everyone. In fact, many of you reading this probably don’t even care in the slightest. But clearly a large subset of the user base is upset, and I completely understand why.
On the one hand you’ve got a phone powered by AI and capable of shooting professional-level footage, on the other your eyes can physically register the lag when you swipe. It’s a jarring juxtaposition.
What Apple could have and should have done
The jump from 90 Hz to 120 Hz often doesn’t feel too significant but going from 60 Hz up to 90 Hz is amazing. I believe 90 Hz should be the bare minimum for smartphone displays today. Even budget Chinese phones at one-third the cost of an iPhone 16 come with 90 Hz displays nowadays.That clearly indicates it isn’t too expensive to update older displays to smoother ones. Sure, iPhone displays are more color-accurate and have higher resolutions, but I highly doubt Apple would be hurting for money manufacturing 90 Hz smartphones.
Coupled with the regional differences…no thanks
EU Siri could never. | Image credit — Apple
AI seems to be the only reason worth buying an iPhone 16, but both the EU and China aren’t getting it. Instead, the EU is getting an iPhone that supports third party NFC payments, alternate app stores and the removal of Apple’s default apps. Handy, but hardly anything to choose an iPhone for.
It doesn’t help that Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman says Apple Intelligence is underwhelming compared to Gemini. I’m sure that’ll change with time but, for now at least, the iPhone 16 seems to be a very forgettable upgrade.
But I’ll hold out hope for that iPhone 17 Air we might be getting next year. That sounds sick.