Apple's new iPhones will hit store shelves in a week, and the company is already taking pre-orders for the iPhone 16 But while there may be excitement over the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models, that's not all there is to Apple's cell phone lineup

When Apple introduces a new handset, it replaces the lineup and keeps some of the best iPhones from the previous year Currently, both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 are available at reduced prices, along with their respective Plus variants

Specifically, the iPhone 15 now starts at $699, down $100 from its price when it launched in 2023 iPhone 15 Plus is similarly priced, now selling for $799 Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which each dropped $100 last fall, have dropped again to $599 and $699, respectively

The majority of people looking for a new iPhone will naturally rush to the new iPhone 16 model But for some shoppers, will it make sense to consider the discounted older iPhones as well? In some cases, it will

Here, let's look at the case for buying an older iPhone, such as the iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus, instead of the iPhone 16

Obviously, trading off a lower price for new features is not something many people would be willing to do But if you are pondering the iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 debate, these are arguments for choosing Apple's older, cheaper phone

For the most part, the cameras are the same: Apple made changes to the ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 - more on that in the next section - but the main camera on the new phone is the same one Apple introduced on the iPhone 15 And if you use the main camera almost exclusively, you will be able to get very similar photos from the 48MP shooter like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 15 can crop photos taken with the main camera, and in close-up shots, the quality is equivalent to a 2x optical zoom

A few design improvements were only sacrificed: the iPhone 16 adds an action button and a camera control button, and these are notable additions We are particularly impressed with the camera controls, which should make it easier to activate and control the camera with a swipe or press

Still, if you've survived this long without either button, you can probably do without them if it means buying a cheaper phone Besides, the really important design changes have already taken place in the iPhone 15: a USB-C port has replaced the Lightning port, and the notch has been eliminated for Apple's Dynamic Island feature This means more screen space and a better way to keep track of live activities such as delivery times and sports scores

Battery life will remain the same: Apple has stated that the iPhone 16 model will last longer on a charge However, battery life is a particular strength of the iPhone 15 lineup, especially if one is looking at the iPhone 15 Plus

In fact, the Plus model logged the best hours of any iPhone we've tested so far When we let the phone surf the web continuously, it lasted more than 14 hours, putting it on our list of best smartphone battery life iPhone 15 did not last as long - its small size limits the size of the battery Apple can use - but lasted more than 11 hours, which is well above the average result for the smartphones we test

The A16 Bionic chipset is a solid performer: The A18 silicon in the new iPhone will outperform the A16 system-on-chip used by the remaining 15 iPhone models In fact, Apple claims a 30% increase in CPU speed and a 40% faster GPU compared to the A16 Bionic

You may or may not notice that improvement with daily use But is it worth $100 to you? Perhaps it is not enough

As good as the iPhone 15 is, there are some things about the iPhone 16 that I just can't give up

No Apple Intelligence support: this is probably the biggest objection to choosing an older iPhone, with the exception of the iPhone 15 Pro model, which may still be available The AI-powered Apple Intelligence feature coming to iPhones next month requires an A17 Pro or later chipset, and the standard iPhone 15 does not have the horsepower

Now, one could argue that Apple Intelligence is still in its infancy and that the initial lighting tools, image generation features, and Siri overhaul are not features you want to pay to get But if you are buying an iPhone 15, the chances of Apple Intelligence making it onto your phone are slim to none

No Spatial Video Support: The iPhone 16 changes the rear camera lens placement so that the lenses are stacked, as opposed to the diagonal placement of the iPhone 15's lenses This allows the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to capture spatial video for viewing with the Apple Vision Pro or other VR headsets

Spatial video has a depth that is not available with regular video, and when viewed in the headset, it feels as if the action is unfolding before your eyes To achieve this effect, video must be recorded simultaneously by both the main camera and the ultrawide camera, and the lenses must be superimposed to make it work

If you don't intend to view spatial video, this is not a very big sacrifice However, it should be recognized that this is still a limitation of the iPhone 15

Improved ultrawide camera: The iPhone 16's ultrawide sensor remains the same 12 MP as the iPhone 15's camera However, because Apple's new phone has a physically larger sensor that collects more light, low-light images taken with the iPhone 16's ultrawide camera should look better than those of the iPhone 15 The new ultrawide camera also has autofocus and supports a macro photo mode, which the iPhone 15 does not

No big discount on the iPhone 16 Plus: Even with the $100 price cut, the iPhone 15 Plus is priced exactly the same as the iPhone 15 Sure, the screen is larger and the battery lasts longer But you would get fewer features for the same price as the newer model

Frankly, it is very difficult to justify buying an iPhone 14 instead of an iPhone 16 at this point Not only do the same arguments we made against choosing the iPhone 15 apply here, but we would also be missing out on the improvements Apple made to last year's phone Namely, there is no 48MP main camera and no dynamic island feature; the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14 lags further behind the iPhone 16's A18 silicon in terms of performance and power efficiency

In fact, the best case for the iPhone 14 is its cost: you can get a reasonably capable iPhone for under $600 What's more, you'll save at least $200 over buying a new model If your budget calls for a cheaper iPhone, the iPhone 14 or iPhone SE 2022 are the best options Otherwise, you may want to take advantage of the features offered by the newer iPhones