Although Apple only launched their iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro recently, but rumors of an iPhone 16 series launch in 2024 have already begun. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true!
We’re expecting some bigger changes with the iPhone 16 than we got with the iPhone 15, the following are the big rumors and reports we know so far.
Release Date of iPhone 16
Like most iPhone releases, Apple is expected to announce and release the iPhone 16 lineup in Fall 2024.
Price of iPhone 16
Although it was expected that the iPhone 15 series would see a price increase, this has not happened except for the iPhone 15 Pro Max model, which is the only model in the iPhone 15 series to see a “price increase”.
The iPhone 15 replacement price is the highest for Apple, even as it absorbs the increased production costs. But that may not happen in 2024, so we may see a slight increase in sales of all iPhone 16 models.
However, we have to wait and see how much the price will increase.
Design Prototypes of iPhone 16
Apple has created three prototypes for the iPhone 16 design, each with slightly different features. Across all three, there’s a vertically aligned camera, which could potentially allow spatial video recording for the Vision Pro headset.
One design had a pill-shaped iPhone X-style camera, while the other two had designs with two distinct lenses. Another of the designs included haptic buttons with a unified volume button, and the third has the two-lens camera, standard mechanical volume buttons, a capacitive Action Button, and a new Capture Button.
We are expecting the third design, which is the phone in black in the images, to be the one that Apple chooses. There will be a vertically aligned rear camera, a second “Capture” button on the right side for taking video, and a left-side mmWave antenna in the United States that’s below the Action Button.
Note that the colors in the images are colors that Apple has tested, so we could see pink, yellow, and black as colors for the standard iPhone 16 models.
Size Changes for iPhone 16 Pro
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to have larger display sizes, according to multiple sources. The iPhone 16 Pro will have a display that’s 6.27 inches in size (rounded to 6.3), while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to have a display that’s 6.85 inches in size (rounded to 6.9).
We are not expecting size changes for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, and these devices will be the same size as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
Display Technology
The iPhone 16 OLED panels could use micro-lens technology for both improved brightness and and reduced power consumption. Micro-lens arrays or MLA uses a uniform pattern of billions of lenses inside the panel to reduce internal reflection. The reflected light increases perceived brightness without increasing power consumption.
Haptic Buttons
For the iPhone 15 Pro models, Apple originally wanted to introduce solid-state volume, power, and mute buttons that would replace the physical buttons, but due to “unresolved technical issues” the feature was pulled from the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Instead, rumors now suggest that Apple will delay solid-state buttons until 2024, instead adding them to the iPhone 16 models. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that it is “likely” that Apple will use the technology for the iPhone 16 Pro, and if that happens, we might also see the unified button design that was rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro models.
Solid-state buttons can be used in the same way as a physical button, but there is no actual button press that occurs when you touch it. Instead, a haptic vibration is used to mimic a button press and give you the sensation of pressing down even when there is no actual physical movement of the button.
Action Button
iPhone 15 Pro models include an action button, which is expected to expand to iPhone 16 models by 2024. Apple is expected to use an upgraded capacitive action button in 2024 that provides tactile feedback when pressed instead of a standard button, and the button may be larger in size and could be flush with the iPhone’s body.
The Action button, which replaces the traditional mute switch, can perform multiple functions such as activating the Flashlight, turning on the Camera, launching a Shortcut, enabling or disabling a Focus mode, using Translate, turning on/off Silent Mode, and more.
Extra Capacitive Button
Internal versions of the iPhone 16 that Apple is working on include an extra capacitive button, known internally as the “Capture Button.” The button is located on the same side as the Power button, in the space that is occupied by the 5G mmWave antenna in the United States.
With the addition of this button, the mmWave cutout has been relocated to the left side of the device, below the volume buttons. Like the Power and Action buttons on the iPhone 16 models, the Capture Button is a capacitive button that is able to detect pressure and touch, providing haptic feedback when pressed. It will be used for taking photos and videos.
USB-C Port
Apple will transition to USB-C technology with the iPhone 15 lineup, and it’s also expected to be used for the iPhone 16 models.
Under Display Face ID?
There were rumors that the iPhone 16 Pro models could adopt under-display Face ID technology, but now it appears that under-display Face ID might not be coming until 2025. Under display Face ID will allow for more usable display space as there will be no need for the full Dynamic Island.
Camera Technology
The iPhone 16 Pro models could include an improved 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens, which would allow improved images in lower lighting conditions. It would likely function like the 48-megapixel Wide camera, which uses pixel binning to combine the data from four pixels into one “super pixel” for better image quality.
The 48-megapixel wide-angle camera used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max will reportedly feature an eight-part hybrid lens with two glass elements and six plastic elements, along with improvements for the telephoto and ultra wide camera lenses.
Both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max could get 5x Telephoto lenses in 2024, instead of the technology being limited to the larger Pro Max.
Battery
Rumors suggest the iPhone 16 Pro models will use stacked battery technology, which can result in higher capacity and a longer lifespan. Stacked batteries are common in electric vehicles and medical devices, but are an emerging technology for smartphones.
The stacked battery could come alongside faster 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe charging.
An image of the alleged iPhone 16 Pro battery leaked in November with a new design, updated connector, and 3355mAh capacity.
AI Capabilities
With iOS 18, Apple is rumored to be introducing new Siri features powered by large language models, and some of the cutting-edge generative AI features could be limited to the iPhone 16 models.
WiFi 7
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the iPhone 16 Pro models could adopt the net-generation WiFi 7 technology, which is expected to provide speeds of “at least 30” gigabits per second, and could hit up to 40Gb/s.