iPhone 15/16 ear speaker quality compared to iPhone 12

gerhard2905 wrote:

I'm currently using an iPhone 12 and I'm considering upgrading to an iPhone 15 or a 16 standard version. The 12 has the speaker on the notch whereas the 15 or 16 have the speaker in a "slit" at the top of the screen. Is the speaker for the ear any good on the 15 or 16 when making or receiving a telephone call? How does it compare to the 12?

I noticed when making a call with a 15/16 of a client, I could barely hear the answering machine. There was only a little background noise. I checked the speaker's volume and it was set to maximum. The online reviews of these phones have focussed on the dynamic island and screen, USB-C charging, camera, AI, etc. But there is little information on the things that make the telephone function, the ear speaker and the microphone.

Thank you.

Moving the speaker to the top didn't in any way make the sound worse at all. Keep in mind that Apple discontinued iPhone 15 last September, so finding a brand new one may be a challenge at this point. Apple still sells iPhone 16 themselves.

Sound quality is subjective. You may prefer emphasis on base while others prefer mid tones etc. Loudness is measurable and less subjective and overall I believe they are louder. There are safety measures in place to help prevent ear damage from excessively loud sounds.

Personally, I prefer the 17 PM speakers to any previous iPhones. When my iPhone 17 PM arrived last fall I compared it to my wife’s iPhone 15 PM and my 16 PM and I preferred the sound from the 17 PM.

Generally speaking the larger the speaker, the more accurate the sound quality. If old fashioned way means a wired handheld ear speaker and separate mouthpiece such as commonly used in the 1960’s and ‘70’s then no, the quality may not be better. Compared to iPhones of 10 years ago, yes, they’re better. Year over year the improvements are marginally better, but it can take some time before the cumulative affect is genuinely noticeable by the average consumer.

In regard to cameras, iPhone X and XS were basically pro models before Apple adopted that nomenclature. The XR was just a standard iPhone, not a pro model. Apple has consistently put better cameras in each successive Pro model. iPhone 17 is the first model to get the same cameras as 17 Pro Models.

gerhard2905 wrote:

Is there data or a report showing they kept the quality of the ear piece/speaker when they moved from the iPhone 12, 13 and 14 (notch display) to the iPhone 15 and 16 (dynamic island)? 

I hope that your comment is correct and I just had an issue with that one iPhone. But I recall that they fitted a worse camera in the iPhone XR released after the iPhone X. 

No, there's no data or report on this. But just like Jeff Donald suggests, the speaker on my iPhone 17 Pro Max is even better than the speaker was on my iPhone 16 Pro Max and the speaker on my 16 Pro Max was quite good for calls. I also don't remember anything about Apple using a less capable camera in the iPhone Xr. But then the internet is full of false facts, including proof the earth is flat.