The iPhone 15 may be the talk of the town right now, but Apple is already hard at work on its successor. Here is a list of all the news and rumors regarding the iPhone 16 that have surfaced so far.
When will the iPhone 16 be released?
When it comes to iPhones, Apple has a near-perfect release schedule. September is generally when we see new models, and we have no reason to believe that the iPhone 16 will break that trend. So we’d be pretty sure in projecting that the next iPhone 16 will be available in September 2024.
The iPhone 14 debut was a little odd, since the normal model came on time, but the bigger iPhone 14 Plus was delayed by a few weeks, so users only received them in October. However, this was supposed to be more of a supply chain issue, with Apple not being able to obtain enough screens for the bigger tablet in time. Tim Cook is a master at this, and we doubt the iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 will be delayed in the same way.
How much will the iPhone 16 cost?
Again, Apple’s pricing has been quite stable in previous years. According to sources, the Pro variants of the iPhone 15 are poised for significant price rises, with the iPhone 15 Pro being hiked by roughly $100/£100 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max being raised by a staggering $200/£200. We’ve also seen a Tweet from leaker @Tech_Reve explaining anticipated increases in production costs, which might push up non-Pro pricing even more.
Compared to the iPhone 14 series, the production cost of the iPhone 15 base model is expected to increase by around 12% and the iPhone 15 Pro model by around 20%.
TSMC fab price hikes may be the main culprit pic.twitter.com/GovuLF27WC
— Revegnus (@Tech_Reve) April 26, 2023
If that’s the case, and Apple stays on those tiers for the next couple of years, then you may be looking at something like this for the base models across the range:
- iPhone 16 – $849/£899
- iPhone 16 Plus – $949/£999
- iPhone 16 Pro – $1,099/£1,199
- iPhone 16 Pro Max – $1,299/£1,399
There are also rumors that Apple is working on a new model, the iPhone Ultra, to sit above the iPhone 16 Pro Max. So far, we’ve only seen a smattering of information on this potential, but if Apple does go this path, who knows what insane price it will slap on the model.
What new features will be in the iPhone 16?
With so much time until the iPhone 16 lineup is announced, we obviously only have a few hints and reports on what Apple has in store. Almost all of it is about the Pro models, but we’re hoping to find out more about the ordinary models in the coming months. Here’s what we’ve discovered thus far.
Camera upgrades to the Pro models
So far, the most notable rumors have revolved around prospective camera advancements that may follow the new handsets. According to GSMArena and others, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will include a periscope camera with a focus distance of up to 300mm, as opposed to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has a maximum focus distance of 77mm. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is believed to contain a periscope lens, but not as strong as the one on the 16 Pro Max, which will subsequently be fitted to the iPhone 16 Pro, while the Pro Max receives the mega-zoom version.
With such long focal lengths available, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will presumably include enhanced OIS to prevent the inevitable shaking that occur while focusing on a subject so far away. According to the rumors, the sensor size might be increased by 12% to 1/1.14in. This would be consistent with earlier rumors that Apple would adopt a new stacked CMOS sensor in the Pro 16s, which will be capable of catching more light for better exposures.
According to MacRumours, a new 48-megapixel wide-angle lens in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will be comprised of an eight-part hybrid lens, twin glass components, and an extra six plastic elements. So far, it appears that much of the attention has been on upgrading the already amazing camera functionality, at least on the Pro versions.
Goodbye to the notch?
Displays on the Pro versions are expected to grow this time, with display specialist Ross Young estimating that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will go from 6.1in and 6.7in panels to 6.3in and 6.9in panels, respectively. There’s also talk that Apple may eventually join the rest of the industry and introduce an under-display secure unlock function. However, Face ID will be used instead of Touch ID. It will be amazing to see how it accomplishes this. It may also see the elimination of the notch, or at least a substantial portion of it, with the Dynamic Island assumed to be a software solution rather than a hardware one. However, the requirement for a selfie camera remains, thus the notch may not be phased out entirely.
Solid state buttons
It had been claimed that the conventional buttons on the iPhone 15 series will be replaced by solid state ones. This would be comparable to when the iPhone 7’s solid state Home button replaced the physical one from the iPhone 6 range. However, technical hurdles appear to have stalled the approach, and it is now expected that they will be reserved for the iPhone 16 range instead.
