Watch as late night TV gag makes fools out of iPhone users

The release of the iPhone 16 series last Friday caught the attention of late-night hosts in the U.S. ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, who traditionally does a funny bit about the latest iPhone launch, did it again with a seriously funny bit that took place on the streets of Hollywood, California. Here's the setup. A "reporter" stops iPhone users and asks them if they would be interested in having the information on their device switched over to the iPhone 16 Pro  so they can test out the new model.

Well, I'd like to believe that everyone who reads PhoneArena would know right off the bat that this is a hoax. But with an assistant dressed up like an Apple Store employee sitting at a table nearby, those who are not phone fanatics might be excused for believing that this is a real test that they are participating in. The phony Apple Store employee grabs the person's iPhone, pretends to do some busy work, and then hands the person his own phone back but in a different case.

So even though these iPhone users are getting back their own phone, they rave about the better screen, and how much faster the device is. "This is processing so much quicker than my phone," says one iPhone owner. The joke is on him because it is his iPhone that he is scrolling through. Another person, when prompted to check out the enhanced images in the Photos app, raved over the improvement even though she was actually browsing through the Photos app on her phone.

One gentleman who was fooled by the gag revealed that he is a sales expert for Apple Southcoast Plaza which is an Apple Store in Costa Mesa, California. If this proves anything, it is that the use of benchmark tests is more important than you would think since our minds can be tricked into believing our devices are running faster than they are. As for being conned into believing that the photographs in the Photos app look better and are sharper with more detail, the power of suggestion works very well with iPhone users when it comes down to upgrades even when they aren't real.