Apple iPhone 16 rumors: Everything we know so far and what we want to see

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Apple made some significant changes to the 2023 iPhone lineup, including the addition of USB-C, the mute-switch-replacing Action Button, Titanium bodies instead of Stainless Steel on the Pro iPhones, Dynamic Island on the non-Pro iPhones, a periscope camera for the Pro Max model, and more. If you’ve been following Apple long enough, you’d know that most of these new features from the iPhone 15 series would most certainly be coming to iPhone 16 models. Additionally, what’s exclusive to the 2023 Pros would likely trickle down to the non-Pro variants this year. Keeping all that in mind, here’s what you can expect from the iPhone 16 lineup in 2024.

Will there be an iPhone 16 series?

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

A better question might be: will these new iPhones be called the iPhone 16 series? This is not nearly as assured, although we are pretty confident that’s what will happen. It’s been a long time since Apple didn’t use a new number for its yearly iPhone upgrade. In fact, the last time there was an “S” series iPhone was the iPhone XS and XS Max in 2018, nearly six years ago. Since then, it’s been a brand new number every year, so we’re pretty confident there will be an iPhone 16 release this year.

What is the most likely iPhone 16 series release date?

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Design, display, and buttons

Apple made several notable design changes on the iPhone 15 series, and we expect the company to refine these going forward. We think Apple’s newly launched Action Button will make its way to the non-Pro iPhone 16 models this year. As we said earlier, bringing Pro features to base iPhone models is a practice Apple has followed for years. The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (previously reserved only for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max) is a prime example of that. So, if you prefer the classic mute switch over the new Action Button, know that it will most likely disappear for good after the iPhone 16 lineup goes official.

Apple could equip the iPhone 16 series with yet another new button.

If one new button wasn’t enough, rumor has it that Apple will equip the iPhone 16 series with yet another button. According to a MacRumors report and frequent Apple leaker Mark Gurman, Apple internally refers to this new button as the “Capture Button.” It is expected to appear on the right side of the device, and Gurman says it could be used to shoot images and record videos. The Information says that the button will be a physical button that will be sensitive to both pressure and touch. The report mentions that lightly pressing the button will allow you to focus, while a firmer press will capture an image or start recording. It is said that you will also be able to swipe left or right on the button to zoom in or out.

All-in-all, it looks like the iPhone 16 series may come with as many as five buttons, including the power button, two volume buttons, the Action Button, and the new Capture Button. The button is said to be in testing across all four models within the iPhone 16 series, so it’s possible this will not be a Pro-only feature.

For the designs of the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, we expect Apple to stick to the same screen sizes as last year. Display analyst Ross Young also suggests that Apple is only expected to bring high refresh rate screens to base iPhones in 2025. That means we might be stuck with 60Hz displays on the cheaper iPhones in 2024, which is profoundly disappointing, especially when you consider you can get a budget Android phone with a 90Hz display for less than $400 these days.

The overall footprint of the new 2024 iPhones could also be larger than ever

As for the Pro models, they could be larger than ever. Gurman and Young concur that Apple plans to increase the size of its two iPhone 16 Pro models by “a couple of tenths of an inch diagonally.” The new displays are expected to measure 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, respectively, making the Pro Max the largest iPhone ever. However, the Pro Max name might not stick around. According to 9to5Mac, the top-of-the-line iPhone could adopt the “Ultra” branding in 2024, which we heard in 2023, too — so take that rumor with a grain of salt.

Speaking of the displays, the iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to get Samsung Display’s new M14 OLED panels, ET News reports (h/t: Phandroid). As a result, they should be brighter than ever, last longer, and could be more energy efficient.

A rumor from Ice Universe (via MacRumors) suggests that the bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro will be even thinner than the bezels on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. If true, this would mean that the bezels will be narrower than 1.52mm. To accomplish this, it is rumored that Apple will rely on Border Reduction Structure (BRS) technology. A newer rumor suggests the iPhone 16 Pro Max (or Ultra) might also have crazy-thin bezels — so small it will be almost like they’re not even there. Ice Universe, the source for this leak, says the iPhone 16 Pro Max might end up being “the world’s closest smartphone to a borderless sci-fi form factor.”

We have also seen a few dummy units around, giving us a fair idea of what the lineup will look like. Leaker MajinBu reshared comparison pics of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro as against the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, and the size difference on the Pro iPhone is very apparent year-on-year.

Sonny Dickson also shared dummy units of the entire iPhone 16 series, corroborating the difference in screen sizes, the vertically placed cameras, the Action button, and the Capture button on all four phones.

Dickson later shared better quality dummy units of the series, which you can see at the top of this section. Those dummy units show off the redesigned camera modules on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus as well as just how large the Pro Max (or Ultra) is.

If you’re wondering about the colors coming to the series, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared that he believes most of the existing colors will be brought over from the iPhone 15. However, he claims that the iPhone 15 Pro’s “Blue Titanium” could be replaced by a rose color on the iPhone 16 Pro models, and the iPhone 16 could drop yellow in favor of white.

iPhone 16 series camera specs

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Meanwhile, Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu claims that Apple will add a 48MP ultrawide shooter to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Ming-Chi Kuo also reiterates this with more details, noting that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could jump to a 48MP 1/2.6-inch sensor with 0.7µm pixel size and 6P lens assembly for its rear ultrawide camera. The output would be 12MP, so with pixel binning, the effective pixel size would be 1.4µm. If true, this would be a significant resolution upgrade compared to the 12MP ultrawide sensor currently used on iPhone models with a 1µm pixel size.

Further supporting the possibility of an ultrawide upgrade to 48MP is a rumor from Weibo tipster OvO Baby Sauce OvO. In addition to an improvement to the ultrawide, the tipster also says the Pro Max’s main camera will be based on an advanced custom 48MP Sony IMX903 sensor.

However, Jeff Pu (via MacRumors) has suggested Apple might change up its strategy this year. He claims that all four new iPhone 16 series phones might be equipped with A18 series chips. Pu also expects the chips to be manufactured by TSMC on its second-generation 3nm process instead of the first-generation 3nm process used on the A17 Pro chip.

More recently, code discovered in Apple’s backend by MacRumors seems to confirm that all four iPhone 16 models will feature the new A18 family chips. The code uses internal model numbers to refer to the new iPhones, and this time they all start with “iPhone17,” indicating a unified chip generation across the lineup.

That being said, there could still be a difference in the processors that the non-Pro and Pro iPhones 16 models get. Even within the same generation, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus could get the A18 chip, while the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max could come equipped with an A18 Pro chip with better or more GPU cores.

We’re inclined to think all iPhone 16 models could get new chips because iOS 18 is expected to lean heavily into Apple Intelligence features. Many of these features will work on-device, which will require powerful specialized chips called neural processing units (NPUs). The A17 Pro already has an NPU, but we think Apple would want all iPhone 16 models to have something better to make them powerful AI machines.

Elsewhere, the battery capacity of at least the base iPhone 16 is expected to increase. Thanks to leaked images of the iPhone 16 battery, we can see its capacity is about 200mAh more than the iPhone 15. Also, we see that the battery is encased in metal, which could help cut down on overheating problems users faced with the iPhone 15 series:

Meanwhile, the storage tiers of the iPhone 16 series could remain the same as the iPhone 15 series, but there may be some shuffling in RAM. Pu suggests that the base iPhone 16 could finally get 8GB of RAM, compared to the base iPhone 15’s 6GB of RAM. The iPhone 15 Pro models already have 8GB of RAM, so Apple would probably stick with the same for the iPhone 16 Pro models.

The base iPhone 16 could also make the jump to Wi-Fi 6E, finally.

The iPhone 16 Pro, instead, could get an upgrade to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem, as Pu notes. The base iPhone 16 could retain the Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modem, which is present on iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models.

We also expect Apple to infuse generative AI into its products in 2024. The company is reportedly integrating AI features in iOS 18 in partnership with OpenAI (owners of ChatGPT). While that deal is essentially done, there have also been rumors of Apple working with Google to bring Gemini features to iPhones, too. Given that the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 series all heavily focus on AI smarts, it’s pretty much a given that Apple will need to respond in the iPhone 16 series, but we don’t know yet what that will look like.

What might the iPhone 16 series’ price be?

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

As for the rest of the lineup, it’s tough to say if Apple will keep prices unchanged or increase them. We aren’t hearing about huge upgrades just yet, so the iPhone 16 series could also end up starting at $799. We’ll be better positioned to predict prices later this year. For now, though, it’s probably a safe bet to assume pricing will remain unchanged. You can be assured that Apple will not lower any prices.

Should you wait for the iPhone 16 series?

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

If you are interested in making the jump to Android, there are also plenty of great options. The Google Pixel 8 ($699 at Amazon) would be a great Android alternative to the iPhone 15, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus ($1119.99 at Amazon) or OnePlus 12 ($899.99 at Amazon) will deliver a lot more than an iPhone 15 Plus. If you want an iPhone Pro model, the Pixel 8 Pro ($999 at Amazon) or Galaxy S24 Ultra ($1419.99 at Amazon) will really impress you.