iPhone 16: rumors about when it will come out, new leaks, price predictions and more

The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are already generating considerable expectation as some of the most widely awaited phones of 2024, even though the iPhone 15 line was released less than six months ago.

Even though Apple’s new products aren’t out yet, rumors about the iPhone 16 have already started to spread. Of course, we already have a general idea of what new features and improvements the iPhone 16 and similar models may bring to the mobile industry in the coming months.

The new phones are outstanding by their enhanced cameras, the addition of a ‘Capture’ button, and larger displays on the Pro variants. The compatibility of the new phones with the Apple Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headgear, has been confirmed. Kindly consult our extensive article for a comprehensive evaluation of the Apple Vision Pro. Undoubtedly, as the iPhone 15 series was only recently introduced by Apple, ascertaining the exact release date of the iPhone 16 series is unattainable. Nonetheless, forecasts can be generated through an examination of Apple’s past performance.

WHEN WILL THE IPHONE 16 BE RELEASED?

IPHONE 16 RELEASE DATE 

Expected to be released during the initial six months of September 2024
The estimated shipping date is likely to be delayed by approximately one week.

Apple is likely to announce the official launch date for the iPhone 16 during its yearly September launch event in 2024, if the company follows its usual procedures. In August 2024, the exact date of that event should be made public. We can, however, guess based on past Apple events when next year’s event will happen and, by extension, when the iPhone 16 might come out.

Most of the time, Apple releases its new iPhones in the first or second week of September. The company would rather do this on a Tuesday most of the time, but sometimes they may choose a Wednesday. The September 12 event, which was also known as the iPhone 15, in 2023 was held by Apple. Soon after the event, on September 15, just over a week later, all four versions of the iPhone 15 went on sale.

The most likely days for the iPhone 16 to come out in 2024 are September 3 or 10, both of which are Tuesdays. However, September 4 and 11 are also possible dates. For the same reason as the iPhone 15, the iPhone 16 is expected to start shipping one week after pre-orders open.

Predictions on the price of the iPhone 16
The product being referred to is the Apple iPhone 15.

iPhone 16 prices rumors

Experts disagree on the pricing of the iPhone 16.

Due to the current circumstances, it is improbable that we will obtain the official pricing for the iPhone 16 until September of the next year. However, experts who provide insider information are already in disagreement on whether Apple will raise or lower prices in the upcoming year.

At present, the least expensive variant of Apple’s iPhone 15 is the basic model, which has a starting price of $799 / £799 / AU$1,499. On the other hand, the most expensive option is the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which starts at $1,199 / £1,399 / AU$2,099. The iPhone 16 line in 2024 has the potential to replicate these numbers, similar to how the iPhone 15 replicated the pricing of the iPhone 14 line.

Nevertheless, several analysts forecast that the cost of the iPhone 16 may be lower in comparison to the iPhone 15. Apple is expected to change its manufacturing process for iPhone chipsets by 2024, thereby affecting the prices of iPhones for consumers.

However, it is possible that the iPhone 16 will be more expensive than the iPhone 15 because of increasing production expenses. According to a recent estimate by Nikkei Asia, Apple’s production cost of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is $558, which represents a 12% rise compared to the production cost of the previous model, the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

There have been reports suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max may feature higher-priced cameras, potentially resulting in an increase in their cost.

Apple may need to raise the retail prices of the iPhone 16 in order to safeguard its profitability if production expenses continue to increase. Put simply, there is a possibility of an iPhone 16 being priced at $799 / £799 / AU$1,499 for the base model, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max might start at a price above $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,199.

It is important to consider that Apple may introduce its initial Ultra-branded iPhone in 2024. At first, there were reports suggesting that the iPhone 15 Ultra will replace the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year. However, this did not occur, and analysts now anticipate that the iPhone 16 Ultra would be introduced next year instead.

It is uncertain if the Ultra iPhone will be released alongside or as a replacement for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, it is quite likely that Apple’s inaugural Ultra iPhone will be the priciest iPhone to date.

iPhone 16 or 16 pro max screen rumors

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max may have the biggest screens of any iPhones that have come out so far.

Ross Young, a reliable source for Apple news, says that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Ultra (or iPhone 16 Pro Max, as it may be called) will have screens that are 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively. They will also have a new 19.6:9 aspect ratio. They would be the largest and thinnest iPhones ever.

Now, a second report backs up these 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch sizes, and a third leak says the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max screens will be 0.2 inches bigger than their predecessors. A different tip also says that the iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.27-inch screen and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have a 6.86-inch screen.

We’ve heard about these size increases before, but this time it was said that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have smaller bezels, which would mean that the phones’ total size wouldn’t go up.

For comparison, the screens on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively. All three iPhone 15 models have an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

The mock-ups below, made by 9to5Mac, show how much bigger and thinner the iPhone 16 Ultra will look compared to the iPhone 15 Ultra that looks like it.
Why might Apple want to make its already-big iPhones even bigger? Well, the bigger screens on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Ultra should allow for some major camera improvements, but we’ll talk more about those later.

Ross Young says that the normal iPhone 16 will keep the same 19.5:9 aspect ratio as the best iPhones on the market right now. However, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus could get these new sizes in 2025.

That’s pretty much in line with another leak that says the iPhone 16’s screen is 6.12 inches and the iPhone 16 Plus’s is 6.69 inches. Both basic iPhone 16 models are said to have a 60Hz refresh rate, just like their predecessors.

Besides being bigger, the screens on the iPhone 16 line may be better than the ones that came before them, at least when looked at from the front. Reports say that Apple is thinking about adding technology that would make this possible and also use less power, which could make the battery last longer.

But this would make the phones more expensive to make, and the screen might not look as bright when looked at from the side, so it wouldn’t be a full change.

iPhone 16 or 16 pro Design rumors

The standard iPhone 16 is said to have a camera setup similar to the iPhone 12.
Face ID parts could be tucked away under the screen.

A new “Capture” button could be added to every model.

But there are already a few guesses about what the iPhone 16 will look like that we haven’t heard much about yet.

The first one is about how the Face ID parts are set up on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo and South Korean news site The Elec say that the Face ID parts of both phones will be hidden under the screen, like many of the best Android phones already have fingerprint scanners under the screen. According to reports, the cutout for the selfie camera will still be there because the sensor will still be visible. However, Apple might be able to make it smaller by turning it into a small punch-hole module.

According to the Elec, this change in design is just a temporary fix for Apple. Their final goal is to make an iPhone screen with no cuts at all.

The second report about the iPhone 16 design only talks about the regular iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus. A Twitter user named @URedditor says that the iPhone 16 will have a vertical camera layout instead of the diagonal layout that has been used on all iPhones since the iPhone 13. A Reddit user writes, “This will make the device instantly recognizable as the latest model” in the year 2024.

Apple Hub shared (via X) a mock-up of the iPhone 16’s back panel in February 2024, which added to this theory. Around the same time, Majin Bu, who is known for leaking information about iPhones, shared leaked blueprints for the iPhone 16, which showed an iPhone with the same two-lens vertical camera layout

The style of the reported iPhone 16 looks good

iPhone 16 expected features

A18 Pro/Bionic chipset probable for Pro models

A17 Pro or A18 chipset likely for iPhone 16

All batteries have different sizes.

Apple plans to change the way it makes chipsets in 2024, but other than that, we don’t know much about the processors that will be used in the iPhone 16 line. However, we can make some pretty sure guesses based on how Apple usually acts.

The standard iPhone 15 got Apple’s brand-new A17 Pro chipset from the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max both got the A17 Pro chipset. Based on this, we think that the standard iPhone 16 will get the A17 Pro from the iPhone 15 Pro, while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will get an A18 Pro/Bionic that hasn’t been named yet.

However, one leak says that all 16-inch iPhones have an A18 chipset, which means they may all be the same amount of strong. The source does say that there might still be some differences, like the Pro phones having a Pro form of the chipset.

However, the A18 Pro might not be very powerful. One tip says it is only about 10% more powerful than the A17 Pro, and another says it will be weaker than the competing Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

Also, we’ve heard that the A18 Pro probably won’t support LPDDR6 RAM. This could make it less useful for AI jobs than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

On the other hand, these chipsets will definitely make the iPhone 16 line faster and last longer than the iPhone 15, but Apple’s processors have become so good in recent years that these improvements probably won’t seem that big when you use them. Leaks have shown that all iPhone 16 models will have 3nm chips, so this is definitely true.

One leak says that all four types of the iPhone 16 will have 8GB of RAM. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus would get better with that, but the Pro models would stay the same.

That being said, one leak suggests that the iPhone 16 Pro models may support Wi-Fi 7 and have a new 5G modem. This would mean faster Wi-Fi and 5G speeds than the regular iPhone 16 versions.

The same source has said again three months later that all 16-inch iPhones will have 8GB of RAM and the Pro models will get a 5G modem upgrade. This shows that they’re very sure of this.

We’ve also heard that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have up to 2TB of storage, which is twice as much as they have now. This is said to be because of a change in storage technology. The new technology may be cheaper and take up less room, but it is also slower and less reliable.
Majin Bu, an insider who often leaks Apple news, said on X that the iPhone 16’s battery will be 6% bigger than the iPhone 15’s (3,561mAh vs. 3,349mAh), and the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s battery will be 5% bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s (4,676mAh vs. 4,422mAh).

While Bu has “not been able to obtain information on the Pro model for the moment,” the source does say that the iPhone 16 Plus will have a 9% smaller battery than the iPhone 15 Plus, which is very different from its siblings.

Still, that might not be a bad thing. It was said that all four models of the iPhone 15 would have a new stacked battery design, like those found in electric cars. This could mean that Apple’s 2024 iPhones will use this more efficient battery technology instead.

In theory, stacked batteries can be packed more tightly and have a higher energy density than current mobile batteries. This means that the iPhone 16 series may have much longer battery life than the iPhone 15 series, even though the 16 Plus’ battery may be smaller.

We’ve also heard that the iPhone 16 Pro Max might have the biggest and longest-lasting battery of any iPhone ever made.

One source says that the iPhone 16 line might all have graphene heat sinks as well. The Pro models will also have a metal battery case. This is to help keep them cooler so they don’t get too hot like the iPhone 15 series did.

Besides that, we think Apple will add reverse wireless charge to all of the iPhone 16 models.

Also, every iPhone 16 model will have a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, just like the iPhone 15 line. This is because of new EU rules that become law in 2024.

We also think that AI will play a big role in how the iPhone 16 works, especially when compared to earlier iPhones. Apple Vision Pro seems like it will also be used in some way. According to reports, Apple does spend more than $1 billion a year on AI research. We also know that Apple will show off a number of AI features designed specifically for the iPhone at WWDC 2024.

We’ve also heard that the Neural Engine in the A18 chipset that’s expected to power the iPhone 16 line could have “significantly” more cores, which should make it better at AI.

One tip, though, says that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max might get some AI features that are only available on those models. This means that you might have to buy a Pro model to see how Apple uses AI.

Apple is supposedly going to improve the microphones on the iPhone 16 line so that Siri can hear you better and respond more accurately. This is because an improved Siri is likely to be the main focus of the company’s AI push.

IPHONE 16 CAMERA RUMORS

‘Super-telephoto’ tube lens rumored for Pro Max 48MP ultra-wide camera rumored, too.

When it comes to cameras, the standard iPhone 16 might have the same 48MP main camera and 12MP ultra-wide dual-sensor setup as the iPhone 15. This is what early leaks say.

As usual, the more important camera improvements are most likely going to be on the iPhone 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, or 16 Ultra. In fact, the iPhone 16 Pro might be the first mid-sized iPhone to have a periscope zoom lens. The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the first phone to have this function in 2023.

This rumor has been going around a few times now. In September 2023, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 16 Pro would use the same “tetraprism” periscope camera technology as the iPhone 15 Pro Max. In October, expert Jeff Pu said the same thing about the iPhone 16 Pro.

Even more recently, in November, Ming-Chi Kuo repeated his claims about the 5x zoom camera. He also said that the production yield on this camera is now much higher than it was, which could mean that Apple can put it in more phones.

The name “periscope” comes from the fact that these cameras look a lot like instruments used on submarines and other naval ships. They basically let the viewer zoom in very far while keeping the quality of the picture. A periscope camera uses mirrors to fit more lens elements into the small camera module of a phone. This gives it a longer zoom range, and it can also be placed across the back of the phone.

According to the part of this article that talks about displays, the bigger 6.3-inch screen on the iPhone 16 Pro should be able to fit this heavy periscope camera.

Adding a periscope zoom lens to the iPhone 16 Pro might make it the same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max (or iPhone 16 Ultra), but it’s not a sure thing.

There are even rumors that this huge 6.9-inch iPhone might get what’s called a “super-telephoto” spy camera. When the focal length of a lens is over 300mm, it is called “super telephoto.” With these kinds of lenses, photographers can get close to scenes and topics that are far away, like wildlife and sporting events.

Even though Apple’s current iPhones already have some of the best cameras on the market, this “super-telephoto” periscope camera could make the iPhone 16 Pro Max a completely different beast. The 5x telephoto zoom camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a focal length of up to 120mm, while the 10x telephoto zoom camera on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a focal length of 230mm.

We’ve heard that the telephoto cameras on both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max might be made of thin, curved glass. This could help them both have longer zoom ranges in the same size body.

There are rumors that Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro models will also get a 48MP ultra-wide camera. This would be a big step up from the 12MP ultra-wide camera that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have now.

The best iPhones from Apple right now have a great ultra-wide setup. Photos taken with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are always bright and colorful. But the iPhone 16 Pro’s rumored 48MP ultra-wide lens should be able to catch a lot more light, making low-light photos even better.

In fact, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max both have a 48MP main camera that uses “pixel binning” technology to combine data from four pixels into one “super pixel” for better low-light image capture. The rumored 48MP ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 16 Pro will likely also use this technology.

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