This article covers all the important features and improvements that are likely to be in the iPhone 16 series, that are essential for you to know.
The iPhone 16 series will have big changes, with Apple planning to make the iPhone 16 Pro 6.3 inches and the iPhone 16 Pro 6.9 inches, the first significant size increase in a long time. The size changes will only affect the iPhone 16 Pro models, with the iPhone 16 models keeping the same size as the iPhone 15 models.
Apple is working on new A-series chips for the iPhone 16 series, using the latest N3E 3-nanometer technology. We might see some enhancements to efficiency and performance, but we still don’t know much about what we can expect. All four iPhone 16 models could have capacitive volume buttons, power button, and Action Button, and the new iPhones might also have an extra unknown button that we are not sure what it does yet.
This roundup has early rumours about the iPhone 16 series and there is a lot of time for Apple to revise its plans, so information here may change as Apple modifies the design of the future iPhone models.
iPhone 16 Design Concepts
Apple made three design prototypes for the iPhone 16, each with some different features. In all three, the camera is aligned vertically, which will probably enable the capture of spatial video for the Vision Pro device.
One design had a camera shaped like a pill, similar to the iPhone X, while the other two had designs with separate lenses. Another of the designs had haptic buttons with a single volume button, and the third had the separate-lens camera, regular physical volume buttons, a capacitive Action Button, and a new Capture Button.
iPhone 16 Pro Models to Have Different Sizes
Multiple sources say that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have bigger screen sizes. The iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.27-inch screen (rounded to 6.3), while the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have a 6.85-inch screen (rounded to 6.9).
The iPhone’s body will also grow with the bigger screens. Both models will be higher and wider than the iPhone 15 Pro models, and the weight will go up a little because of the bigger size, but the thickness will stay the same.
Display Technology
The iPhone 16 OLED screens might have micro-lens technology for better brightness and lower power use. Micro-lens arrays or MLA have a regular pattern of billions of lenses in the screen to cut down internal reflection. The reflected light boosts perceived brightness without using more power.
The OLED screens that the iPhone 16 series will have will use less power because of better materials.
Action Button
In 2024, Apple plans to introduce an improved Action Button for its iPhone 16 lineup, which will also be available on the iPhone 15 Pro models. The new Action Button will be capacitive, meaning it will vibrate when touched instead of being a regular button. It will also be bigger and level with the iPhone’s surface.
Instead of the usual mute switch, the Action button lets you do various things like turn on the Flashlight or the Camera, run a Shortcut, switch on or off a Focus mode, use Translate, mute or unmute your phone, and more.
Extra Capacitive Button
Apple is testing internal versions of the iPhone 16 that have an additional capacitive button, called the “Capture Button” internally. The button is on the same side as the Power button, where the 5G mm Wave antenna is located in the U.S.
The mm Wave cutout has moved to the left side of the device, under the volume buttons, because of this button. The Capture Button is a capacitive button that can sense pressure and touch, and it vibrates when touched. It will be used for capturing photos and videos.
A-Series Chips
Apple plans to use an A17 chip for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, but it will be different from the A17 Pro chip that powers the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 17 Pro chip is made with TSMC’s N3B process, which is a 3-nanometer node that Apple and TSMC developed together. The standard “A17” chip will use the cheaper N3E process, which has less transistor density, less efficiency, and more yield.
Apple usually does not make chips specially for the standard iPhone models. They either use the same chips as the Pro models or use the chips from the previous year’s iPhone models. For example, the iPhone 15 used the A16 chip that was first used in the iPhone 14 Pro.
5G Modem Chips
Apple may use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 modem for the iPhone 16 Pro models, which would enable better and faster 5G connectivity. The X75 has better carrier aggregation and a smaller and more power-efficient 5G transceiver that combines sub-6Ghz and mm Wave.
The X75 also supports the “5G Advanced” standard that uses AI and machine learning to boost 5G performance, so Apple may advertise the iPhone 16 Pro models as having “5G Advanced” connectivity.
The regular iPhone 16 models are likely to keep using Qualcomm’s X70 chip, which is the same chip that the iPhone 15 models used.
Apple is developing its own modem chip and antenna system to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm, but Apple’s modem chips are not expected to launch in 2024. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks that Apple-made modem chips will be available in 2025.
WiFi-7
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 16 Pro models may use the next-generation WIFI 7 technology, which is expected to offer speeds of “at least 30” gigabits per second, and could reach up to 40Gb/s.
WiFi 7 can also use 320MHz channels and supports 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology, which gives up to 2.4x faster speeds than WiFi 6 with the same number of antennas. WiFi 7 will ultimately provide higher maximum transfer speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity.
USB-C Port
Apple plans to use USB-C technology for the iPhone 15 lineup, and it will likely continue to use it for the iPhone 16 models.
AI Capabilities
Apple may introduce new Siri features powered by large language models with iOS 18, and some of the advanced generative AI features may only be available on the iPhone 16 models.
A leaker revealed that iOS 18 will offer many of the new LLM features to all iPhones, but only the iPhone 16 may have on-device AI features. iOS 18’s enhanced AI functionality could include better interactions between Siri and the Messages app, automatically generated Apple Music playlists, integration with productivity apps for AI-powered content creation, and more.
Under Display Face ID?
Apple was rumoured to use under-display Face ID technology for the iPhone 16 Pro models, but it seems that under-display Face ID may be delayed until 2025. Under display Face ID will free up more display space as the full Dynamic Island will not be needed.
The Elec, a Korean site, has claimed that under-display Face ID technology could come as early as 2024 with the iPhone 16 Pro models, but display analyst Ross Young believes the technology is still at least two years away. According to Young’s timeline, under display Face ID would not be ready until the iPhone 17 Pro, which means the iPhone 16 Pro models would still have the Dynamic Island.
Under-display Face ID will have a circular hole for the camera, like how Samsung and other manufacturers do for their front-facing camera technology.
iPhone 16 Camera Technology
The iPhone 16 Pro models may have a better 48-megapixel Ultra-Wide lens, which would enable better images in low-light situations. It would probably work like the 48-megapixel Wide camera, which uses pixel binning to merge the data from four pixels into one “super pixel” for higher image quality.
The 48-megapixel wide-angle camera in the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have an eight-part hybrid lens with two glass elements and six plastic elements, according to reports, and the telephoto and ultra-wide camera lenses will also be improved.
The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max may both have 5x Telephoto lenses in 2024, instead of only the bigger Pro Max having the technology.
Battery
According to rumours, the iPhone 16 Pro models will have stacked battery technology, which can increase the battery size and durability. Stacked batteries are used in electric vehicles and medical devices, but they are a new technology for smartphones.
The stacked battery may also have faster 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe charging.
A picture of the supposed iPhone 16 Pro battery came out in November with a new shape, a different connector, and 3355mAh capacity.
Pricing
Component costs for the regular iPhone 15 models reached an all-time high, rising 16 percent from the iPhone 14 models. Apple took on the higher production costs for the iPhone 15 lineup, but Apple may have to raise the price when the iPhone 16 comes out to prevent affecting overall income.
iPhone 16 Launch Date
Apple plans to release the iPhone 16 models in September 2024, after the iPhone 15 models that will come out in 2023.