At a time when technological products are renewed and replaced, consumers are often hovering between chasing trends and cautious consumption. Recently, with the release of the iPhone 17 series, the topic of "#iPhone16 Backstab Largest Generation #" quickly became a hot search and sparked widespread discussion. Many users who have just bought iPhone 16 said they were "being stung hard". What happened?
According to Guangming.com, at 1 a.m. Beijing time on September 10, Apple held a new autumn product launch conference and launched the highly anticipated iPhone 17 series. After the press conference, Apple's official website quickly adjusted the price. The iPhone 16 has only 128GB version on sale, and the price has dropped from 5,999 yuan at the first launch to 5,399 yuan, while the iPhone 16 Pro series has been removed. This price adjustment has made many users who have recently purchased iPhone 16 feel uncomfortable. But the price is only one aspect, and what makes them even more difficult for them to accept is the significant upgrade of the configuration of the iPhone 17 series.
From the screen and storage point of view, the iPhone 16 standard version has been criticized for its 60Hz screen and 128GB starting storage. The iPhone 17 standard version directly comes with 120Hz ProMotion high refresh screen and all-weather display function, and storage starts from 256GB. In this way, the basic version of iPhone 17 has surpassed the iPhone 16 Pro in terms of smoothness and usage space. No wonder netizens complained that "the experience of spending Pro is not as good as that of other people's basic version."
In terms of charging speed, iPhone 16 users are still glad to support a 30W charger, but they found that the actual stable power is only 20-25W, and it takes half an hour to charge half of the charge. On the other hand, the peak fast charging of iPhone 17 soared to 35W, and with a 40W charger, it can charge 50% in 20 minutes. This efficiency gap makes iPhone 16 users feel helpless.
The upgrade of the imaging system has made iPhone 16 users "break the defense". The iPhone 17 series main camera has been upgraded to 48 million pixels, and the standard version has a resolution of nearly as much as Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro Max supports 8x optical zoom, while the iPhone 16 Pro's telephoto is only 3-5x. Photography enthusiasts all sigh that the image level of the iPhone 17 basic version can compete with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Behind this series of upgrades is the 40% computing power increase brought by the A19 Pro chip, making smart Siri and real-time AI image processing a reality. In contrast, the iPhone 16 series equipped with previous generation chips instantly seems a bit "can't keep up with the times".
It is worth mentioning that the starting price of the standard iPhone 17 version is still maintained at 5,999 yuan (it is expected to be 5,499 yuan after the national subsidy), truly achieving "increasing volume without increasing the price". This is in sharp contrast to the price of spending 6,799 yuan to buy the 256GB iPhone 16. It is no wonder that the calls for "It's better to wait for 17 than to buy 16".
Faced with such a situation, many users who have just bought iPhone 16 expressed regret. Some users complained on social platforms: "A few days after being unpacked, they encountered this 'back thorn'. Apple's operation is so uncomfortable." Especially those consumers who bought the phone one or two months before the press conference feel that they have been "precisely harvested." However, some consumers remain rational and believe that iteration of technology products is fast, buying early and enjoying early, and buying late and enjoying discounts and new configurations. The key is to choose to buy at the right time.
The iPhone 16 is accused of "the largest generation of backstabs" this time, which also reflects consumers' complex mentality when facing the update of technology products. In terms of new phone release strategies and product iterations, Apple may need to more balance consumers' feelings to avoid similar controversies from happening again. For consumers, when purchasing electronic products, they also need to be more rational and comprehensively consider product performance, price and their own needs in order to make the most suitable choice in this wave of technology.
