Subsequent week Apple will introduce the iPhone 16 collection throughout an occasion dubbed “It’s Glowtime”. Here’s what we predict we all know concerning the new fashions – right here we are going to deal with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, the 2 Professionals will probably be coated in a separate article.
The launch
Apple has formally confirmed that the iPhone 16 collection will probably be unveiled on September 9 (Monday). The occasion will begin at 5 PM UTC.
The extra vital query is when the telephones will probably be accessible – based on Mark Gurman, all 4 iPhone 16 fashions are on observe for a speedy pre-order (proper after the occasion) and a September 20 launch.
Apple Intelligence is reportedly delayed and received’t be accessible on launch day. As an alternative, it ought to arrive as an replace in October. Nonetheless, this delay is not going to have an effect on the iPhone 16 launch.
The design
There hasn’t been a major evolution in vanilla iPhone design because the iPhone 11, except you depend the arrival of the Dynamic Island as “significant”. The general search for the 16-series will stay the identical, however dummies have been photographed displaying some tweaks.
The oblong digicam island will probably be squished horizontally, aligning the 2 cameras vertically. This additionally strikes the LED flash off the island and onto the again.
Apple iPhone 16 dummies
The dummies additionally reveal (all?) launch colours. These must be extra saturated than the Professional fashions, which historically solely get the lightest of hues.
Motion and Seize buttons
Aspect views of dummies present the tentatively named Motion and Seize buttons, which is able to set off customized actions and can act as a digicam shutter key, respectively. This does imply that the Alert Slider will probably be eliminated, nevertheless.
All 4 iPhone 16 fashions may have an Motion button
And a seize button
Apparently, the Seize button will probably be extra of a capacitive trackpad than a bodily button, permitting swiping gestures – this may very well be used to regulate zoom, for instance.
Similar(-ish) shows
The iPhone 16 may have a 6.1” show, the iPhone 16 Plus show will probably be bigger at 6.7”, simply as final yr. Nonetheless, each of those will probably be smaller than the respective Professional variants, which may have 6.3” and 6.9” diagonals. The bezels will probably be thinner, so we will count on barely smaller dimensions on the vanilla and Plus fashions (the Professionals will develop by a couple of millimeters).
The shows would be the identical, save for barely slimmer bezels
All 4 fashions will use the vast Dynamic Island gap within the show and that’s unlikely to vary for the vanilla fashions subsequent yr (the Professionals might begin transferring {hardware} under the display screen).
And, no, there will probably be no ProMotion, each iPhone 16 and 16 Plus shows will run at 60Hz like at the hours of darkness ages. Now that’s one thing that may change for the 2025 vanilla pair, if you happen to can maintain out that lengthy.
Apple A18 chipsets and AI for all
We already talked about that Apple Intelligence will probably be delayed – however, crucially, it’s going to finally arrive on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. The 15 and 15 Plus are lacking out due to their older chipsets (A16) and restricted RAM capacities (6GB).
That received’t be the case for the 16-series, nevertheless. Apple, like each different tech firm proper now, sees AI as the subsequent large factor. Which means that the brand new telephones may have an NPU quick sufficient for fast on-device processing and sufficient RAM to carry the comparatively giant AI fashions.
That isn’t to say that Apple will go wild with RAM capacities, no less than not but. This yr the vanilla and Plus fashions are anticipated to get 8GB of RAM, subsequent yr’s successors might go as much as 12GB (or not). Google elevated the RAM capability on the Pixel 9 collection, however reserved a part of it in order that the AI mannequin can at all times keep loaded in reminiscence – prepared to reply at a second’s discover. Whether or not Apple does the identical stays to be seen.
The non-Professional telephones may get fewer GPU cores, however that shouldn’t have an effect on AI efficiency. And with their 60Hz shows, additional GPU energy isn’t wanted anyway.
Similar(-ish) cameras
As we already noticed, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus may have two cameras – no surprises right here. Rumors counsel that the 2 telephones will use the very same 48MP primary digicam as on their 15-series predecessors. The soar from 12MP on 14-series and older fashions was fairly large and we will’t count on the same enchancment yearly.
As for the extremely vast digicam, it will likely be largely the identical apart from an upgraded lens – it’s going to have a brighter f/2.2 aperture (in comparison with f/2.4) for improved low-light efficiency. Even higher, it’s going to have autofocus, permitting it to shoot macro pictures.
We’ve heard rumors of different adjustments, e.g. JPEG XL help within the digicam app (as an alternative choice to HEIC). And we already coated the Seize button above.
What comes subsequent
Only a transient overview of what analysts predict will occur in 2025. This may be the top of the highway for the massive Plus collection, which is able to allegedly give solution to the iPhone 17 Slim. This one may have a barely smaller 6.6” show, based on analyst Jeff Pu, which is able to additional separate it from the Professional Max mannequin (6.9”).
Each the iPhone 17 and 17 Slim will retain the Dynamic Island, however will characteristic an upgraded 24MP selfie digicam. The Professionals ought to have a smaller Island, so there will probably be a noticeable distinction between vanilla and Professional. At the least the vanilla pair ought to lastly get excessive refresh charge screens.
Anyway, there are a variety of rumors concerning the iPhone 17 era flying round proper now and their plausibility is pretty doubtful. For instance, we’ve heard that the iPhone 17 Slim may have just one rear digicam however will probably be costlier than the 17 Professional Max. One or each of those may not be true. Nonetheless, we thought that it was vital to say this stuff as context for what the iPhone 16 collection will signify by way of upgrades.
There’s additionally the iPhone SE 4 to think about, which is able to full Apple’s transition to OLED. The brand new SE will probably arrive in Q1 2025.