Price, not AI, is the deal-breaker for potential iPhone 16 buyers

People want it cooler and cheaper

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The main trend in smartphones currently is AI, as exemplified by the AI-packedGoogle Pixel 9line, but for iPhone owners, AI might not be such a big deal.

This is according to a survey of over 2,000 US adults that own iPhones, carried out bySellCell(via9to5Mac).

DespiteAppledoing its best to hypeApple Intelligenceearlier this year, the survey found that just 21.9% of respondents considered AI to be the most important factor in whether they upgrade, and 82.1% said they would be happy to wait an extra month after launch for the AI features to start rolling out.

So what are the main things that could tempt people to upgrade to aniPhone 16? Well, according to this survey, affordability that’s the main factor, which – since Apple has never been overly known for competitive prices – could be a bad sign for the upcoming phones.

That said, this is still only the top factor for 30.9% of respondents, so there’s no clear consensus on the most important aspect.

In second place there’s the hope of a new thermal design to combat overheating, which is likely a response tothe overheating issues some iPhone 15 Pro models initially exhibited.

Then in third place it’s AI, so there is at least some interest in this, and that’s followed by a faster chipset, and then the rumored larger screen sizes on theiPhone 16 ProandiPhone 16 Pro Max.

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But while only 19.3% of respondents considered larger screen sizes to be the most important rumored feature of the iPhone 16 line, 54.9% said they would like a larger iPhone, while only 12.9% claimed to be holding out for a new compact model.

Buttons are seemingly boring

The rumored Capture button and the likely presence of the Action button on all four upcoming phones seemingly hasn’t excited many potential purchasers though, with just 19% claiming the latter is the most important factor in their purchase, and 17.7% pointing to the former.

Perhaps unsurprisingly there’s even less interest in Wi-Fi 7 or in a vertical camera lens arrangement for the standard models, but the potential for newiPhone 16 colorswas the thing that the fewest respondents saw as the main factor in a potential purchase. Which is fair enough, especially if you’re just going to be putting the phone in a case anyway.

But despite a fairly muted response to some of the most high profile rumored features, 61.9% of respondents said they probably would buy a model in the iPhone 16 line, and among those who claim they won’t the main reasons are the cost, and them being happy with their current iPhone.

Still, while there’s some interesting data here, it’s worth remembering this is a tiny sample size relative to all the people who might consider buying an iPhone 16, and it also only accounts for the US – which is Apple’s biggest market – and only existing iPhone owners. So this definitely won’t tell the whole story.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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