My iPhone 11 to iPhone 16 Pro Upgrade Experience

I've seen a couple other posts talking about their upgrade so I'll share mine as well.

I upgraded from an iPhone 11 64GB to a 16 Pro 512GB.

First off I want to say, my overall upgrade experience has been great, however, I can't stress enough that it's still just a phone, practically everything you do on it is the same whether it be iPhone 11 or iPhone 16 pro, if you're expecting some instant massive 'wow' moment like going to a 'full screen' design, such as I did from the first gen SE to the 11, then just know that won't be happening here. If you have no issues with your current phone upgrading is completely unnecessary.

Things you instantly notice: The physical size of the iPhone 16 pro is pretty much the same as the iPhone 11, merely slightly taller but also slightly thinner. The dynamic island is a nice modernisation of the notch and makes your phone feel a lot more modern but overall serves the same function as before. FaceID also seems to be a lot faster than on iPhone 11.

Speed: Everything in general feels a lot more snappier and ProMotion is absolutely lovely to have and is much smoother (to be honest I would like even higher refresh rates), trying to use my iPhone 11 now feels extremely slow and laggy (If higher refresh rates is something you notice depends on the person, personally I use a 360hz monitor so I can easily tell and notice the difference). Do note though, my iPhone 11 had 77% battery life for over a year and this is no doubt contributing to poor cpu performance.

Screen: Upgrading the screen to OLED is a massive upgrade and something you will notice. Colours are much more colour accurate and blacks are black. ProMotion as I mentioned before makes everything feel smoother and is much appreciated. The very small bezels also are great and make your phone feel much more modern and after using it you realise just how big the bezels are on the 11. The max brightness the phone can get to makes outdoor use completely viable, no more having to use your hand to provide shade so you can see your screen. The minimal brightness also gets slightly lower which helps when using in the dark (as well as the oled for blacks).

Battery Life: Battery life is greatly improved and something I noticed in a very good way. No longer do I have to charge my phone multiple times a day, often I go through an entire day without using more than 60% charge, so I can comfortably limit the battery to 80% charge.

Photos: A massive massive improvement, if you're looking to take photos or videos they are many many times better on the iPhone 16 Pro than the 11. It's hard to describe just how much better they are. The camera bump though can be quite annoying when putting your phone down, even on most cases. The camera control button is mostly just helpful for opening the camera app instantly.

Other comments: The buttons feel a lot more tactile and responsive than the 11. The action button too has its niche uses and I use mine for the torch, which I find to be extremely helpful and convenient. Getting 512GB storage was definitely the right decision for me personally as I no longer have to delete things constantly, the higher quality photos/videos means media can take up a lot more room quicker too. The speakers and microphones are also much improved making a much better video and calling experience.

It has been a good upgrade for me, but only because it has been so many generations since my iPhone 11. I don't understand those that upgrade every year or two or even three, it simply is not worth it. If you're thinking of upgrading, or getting sick of your limited storage I think the 16pro is a nice (if not pricey option). Though personally I would always advise getting a pro over a non-pro for ProMotion, and much improved cameras (15 Pro or even 14 pro > iPhone 16 non-pro imo).