Subsequent week Apple will introduce the iPhone 16 sequence throughout an occasion dubbed “It’s Glowtime”. Here’s what we predict we all know concerning the new fashions – right here we’ll concentrate on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, the 2 Professionals might be lined in a separate article.
The launch
Apple has formally confirmed that the iPhone 16 sequence might be unveiled on September 9 (Monday). The occasion will begin at 5 PM UTC.
The extra necessary query is when the telephones might be obtainable – in keeping with 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 gained’t be obtainable on launch day. As a substitute, it ought to arrive as an replace in October. Nonetheless, this delay won’t 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 “vital”. The general search for the 16-series will stay the identical, however dummies have been photographed displaying some tweaks.
The oblong digicam island might 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 needs to be extra saturated than the Professional fashions, which historically solely get the lightest of hues.
Motion and Seize buttons
Facet views of dummies present the tentatively named Motion and Seize buttons, which can set off customized actions and can act as a digicam shutter key, respectively. This does imply that the Alert Slider might be eliminated, nevertheless.
All 4 iPhone 16 fashions can have an Motion button
And a seize button
Apparently, the Seize button might be extra of a capacitive trackpad than a bodily button, permitting swiping gestures – this may very well be used to manage zoom, for instance.
Similar(-ish) shows
The iPhone 16 can have a 6.1” show, the iPhone 16 Plus show might be bigger at 6.7”, simply as final yr. Nonetheless, each of those might be smaller than the respective Professional variants, which can have 6.3” and 6.9” diagonals. The bezels might be thinner, so we are able to anticipate 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 huge Dynamic Island gap within the show and that’s unlikely to alter for the vanilla fashions subsequent yr (the Professionals might begin transferring {hardware} beneath the display screen).
And, no, there might 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 which may change for the 2025 vanilla pair, for those who can maintain out that lengthy.
Apple A18 chipsets and AI for all
We already talked about that Apple Intelligence might be delayed – however, crucially, it is going to ultimately 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 gained’t be the case for the 16-series, nevertheless. Apple, like each different tech firm proper now, sees AI as the following large factor. Because of this the brand new telephones can 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, not 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 sequence, however reserved a part of it in order that the AI mannequin can all the time 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, further GPU energy isn’t wanted anyway.
Similar(-ish) cameras
As we already noticed, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus can have two cameras – no surprises right here. Rumors recommend that the 2 telephones will use the very same 48MP most important digicam as on their 15-series predecessors. The leap from 12MP on 14-series and older fashions was fairly large and we are able to’t anticipate the same enchancment yearly.
As for the extremely huge digicam, it is going to be principally the identical aside from an upgraded lens – it is going to have a brighter f/2.2 aperture (in comparison with f/2.4) for improved low-light efficiency. Even higher, it is going to have autofocus, permitting it to shoot macro photographs.
We’ve heard rumors of different modifications, e.g. JPEG XL assist within the digicam app (as a substitute for HEIC). And we already lined the Seize button above.
What comes subsequent
Only a temporary overview of what analysts predict will occur in 2025. This is likely to be the tip of the highway for the big Plus sequence, which can allegedly give method to the iPhone 17 Slim. This one can have a barely smaller 6.6” show, in keeping with analyst Jeff Pu, which can additional separate it from the Professional Max mannequin (6.9”).
Each the iPhone 17 and 17 Slim will retain the Dynamic Island, however will function an upgraded 24MP selfie digicam. The Professionals ought to have a smaller Island, so there might be a noticeable distinction between vanilla and Professional. A minimum of the vanilla pair ought to lastly get excessive refresh charge screens.
Anyway, there are a number of rumors concerning the iPhone 17 technology flying round proper now and their plausibility is pretty doubtful. For instance, we’ve heard that the iPhone 17 Slim can have just one rear digicam however might be costlier than the 17 Professional Max. One or each of those won’t be true. Nonetheless, we thought that it was necessary to say this stuff as context for what the iPhone 16 sequence will signify when it comes to upgrades.
There’s additionally the iPhone SE 4 to contemplate, which can full Apple’s transition to OLED. The brand new SE will probably arrive in Q1 2025.
