What Phone Came Out In 2016

Remember 2016? We were all trying to Pokémon Go in the streets. We worried about zombie emojis. And we definitely argued about headphone jacks. Phones got weird, wonderful, and absolutely bonkers that year. Let’s crack open the time capsule and find out what came out—and why it’s still hilarious to talk about.

The iPhone 7: The Villain Who Killed the Jack

Apple dropped the iPhone 7 in September. Their big move? Ripping out the headphone jack. Tim Cook stood on stage and smiled like a mad scientist. People screamed. Memes exploded. “Courage,” Apple called it. Everyone else called it inconvenient.

But here’s the quirky truth: the iPhone 7 introduced water resistance. Finally, you could drop your phone in the toilet and just dry it off. The Home button also stopped being a button. It became a fake button that vibrated. Fancy, but weird. And the Jet Black finish? It scratched if you looked at it wrong. A fingerprint magnet with a fragile ego.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7: The Explosive Legend

Oh, the Note 7. It launched, and everyone gasped. A gorgeous screen, a fancy stylus, water resistance. Then it caught fire. Airplanes banned it. Airlines made people watch safety videos about not using a Note 7. Samsung recalled millions. They tried again. New batches still exploded. It became the most famous phone of 2016 for all the wrong reasons.

Fun fact: some people loved the drama. They called it the “Bomb Note.” Samsung ended production forever. The Note 7 is now a collector’s item—untouched, uncharged, and definitely not plugged in.

But wait, there’s a twist

Samsung secretly recycled the Note 7’s parts. They turned them into refurbished phones for India and Korea. A little piece of the fire-starter lived on. History, but with a spooky vibe.

Top 14 Best Smartphones in 2016 - TechTheLead - Technology for tomorrow

Google Pixel: The Underdog That Actually Won

Google finally got serious. They made their own phone, not just a “Nexus” experiment. The Pixel launched with a killer camera. It wasn’t special hardware—just pure magical software. The Pixel could take photos that made iPhones look like toys.

But here’s the goofy part: it looked boring. A metal slab with a glass window on the back. People called it a “iPhone clone.” Yet, it had the best battery life. And the first unlimited Google Photos storage. We all laughed—until we needed to upload 12,000 blurry cat pictures.

LG V20: The Audiophile’s Weird Dream

LG tried something weird in 2016: a phone for music nerds. The V20 had a second screen on top. You could see notifications and emojis without unlocking it. Why? Because LG said, “Why not?” It also had a quad DAC for flawless audio. Hipsters wept with joy.

But the real zinger? LG advertised the V20 as “military-grade drop-proof.” Then you dropped it. The second screen cracked immediately. Oops. Still, the removable battery and headphone jack made it a cult hero.

Top-Smartphones 2016: Apple, Samsung, OnePlus & Co. - teltarif.de News

And the camera? Weirdly awesome

The V20 could shoot manual video like a pro camera. You could even attach a microphone. Suddenly, every aspiring YouTuber wanted one. It was the phone for people who refused to grow up.

The OnePlus 3T: The Insanely Fast Budget King

OnePlus had a slogan: “Never Settle.” In 2016, they meant it. The OnePlus 3T had 6GB of RAM. That’s more memory than some laptops. It was cheaper than an iPhone by hundreds of dollars. And it charged insanely fast—Dash Charge gave you a day’s battery in half an hour.

But the catch? You needed an invite to buy it. Yes, a secret code. Friends begged friends. Scalpers went wild. It was like a nightclub bouncer for phones. If you got one, you were cool. If not, you cried.

The Moto Z: The Lego Phone

Motorola said, “What if your phone could become a giant speaker? Or a projector? Or a battery pack?” So they made the Moto Z, a phone with magnetic attachments called “Moto Mods.” You snapped them on like magnetic blocks. It was genius. It was silly. And it was thin—one of the thinnest phones ever at 5.2mm.

10 Best flagship smartphones of 2016 that literally made us drool and

But here’s the funny part: the phone itself had a big camera bump. The mods made it even bigger. Your pocket looked like you were smuggling a sandwich. Yet, people loved it. It was the phone for DIY tinkerers who also liked to watch Netflix on their cereal box.

Why We Still Talk About 2016 Phones

Because 2016 was the year phones took risks. They tried removable batteries (LG V20), modular add-ons (Moto Z), dual screens (LG V20 again), and even a literal fire hazard (Note 7). Everything was a wild experiment. Some failed spectacularly. Others became legends.

Phones today are sleek, boring, and waterproof. No headphone jacks. No explosions. No magnetic mods. But 2016? That was the year you could spill coffee on your iPhone, scream about a missing jack, and charge your friend’s Moto Z with a battery mod while your Note 7 sat in a metal box. Peak phone history, right there.

So next time you dig out an old drawer? Look for a Jet Black iPhone 7. Or a Pixel. Or a Note 7 (but don’t plug it in). They’re all time capsules of a goofy, glorious year when the phone industry went bonkers. And we loved every second.