What to expect with Apple’s upcoming iPhone 16

Apple introduces new iPhone models every fall. This year’s model will, of course, introduce significant support for artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of Apple Intelligence — but what else is expected from the company’s most important product? We’ve filtered through the rumor-mill to find out so you, or your business, can get some perspective on whether it’s time to update your iPhone fleet.

Things are happening in the background

In the shadows, things are moving fast. Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams visited Shenzhen, China this week. He met with senior Chinese officials and discussed various plans, including the new applied research lab the company intends to open. Call me suspicious, but I can’t help but imagine Williams might have also visited the Foxconn factory there to check the manufacturing process and sign off on iPhone production, given factories in India and in China are now recruiting staff to build the next-generation Apple smartphone. (India now accounts for 14% of global iPhone production, and that is expected to accelerate as Cupertino builds more resilience into its supply chain with its China+ strategy.)

Apple executives also seem to have visited other key companies across the supply chain in recent months, with CEO Tim Cook meeting with suppliers in China and Vietnam as recently as April. Apple announced plans to spend more on suppliers in Vietnam during that visit. While all roads don’t necessarily lead to phone, it’s not at all unlikely that component deals will be part of the conversation. That India recently relaxed some tariffs on imported smartphone components also seems relevant.

In other words, the body of (circumstantial) evidence says the Apple machine is preparing to hum into action. So, what should we expect? 

A processor fit for AI phone

The faster A18 chip is expected to be 3-nanometers, which suggests performance and battery life improvements. Power efficiency is also expected from the improved display in the devices, and it’s possible the company might seek to further differentiate its Pro family device with A18 Pro chips. 

AI is what will be driving the sales pitch here. Those A18 Pro chips will possibly feature a more powerful neural engine, making the devices the ultimate in Apple AI phones. That’s also why the RAM inside increase, up to 8GB, speculation claims.

Apple will hit the market hard, pushing home the message that these iPhones are the world’s most advanced devices for mobile AI, with a processor more capable than anyone else’s, and a private, on-device AI to help you get things done. We’ll find out the extent to which AI is being hyped in due course.

Bigger, tougher, heavier

Expect larger 6.3-in. and 6.9-in. OLED display sizes for the Pro and Pro Max models. The non-pro iPhones will remain the same size as current models, while the pros will be a little wider, taller, and a tiny bit heavier than current models. The displays might also be more scratch-resistant than before.

Apple’s spatial reality field

The 48-megapixel cameras will introduce a new vertical camera lens, likely to make the devices more capable of capturing spatial video. The iPhone 16 Pro could also gain the 5x optical zoom introduced in the Pro Mac last year.

Capture and action buttons

Speculation claims we should expect new capture (like a camera shutter) and action buttons on all the new iPhones. Apple introduced an Action button with the iPhone 15 Pro models in 2023.

Uh-oh: New prices

Driven by increasing component costs, the company is likely to include price increases across the range, so don’t be too surprised.

Battery improvements

The iPhone 16 Pro models might use stacked battery technology. This means batteries have a better lifespan and last longer between charges than before. It seems plausible Apple has shifted to this tech because it expects iPhone users to run a lot of processor intensive AI tools on the devices. There’s good news for charging, too, with 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe charging, up from 27/15W, respectively.

Networking

The Pro models will be equipped with Wi-FI 7 and use improved versions of Qualcomm’s 5G radios, which are smaller, use less power, and support 5G Advanced. The latter is kind of important if your company is using private or sophisticated 5G services, as they are likely to work better on these devices. Standard iPhones might at last get Wi-FI 6E.

Under display Face ID?

Recent industry news in which a UK component supplier lost its Apple business hints that the company might make changes to FaceID. What those changes are remains unknown: Could these be the first iPhones to ship with under-display FaceID?

USB-C

This is inevitable. And overdue.

More to come

Expect the trickle of iPhone predictions to continue right up until Apple introduces the device in fall. Until it does, take all the speculation with a large pinch of salt. 

What about the iPhone 17?

Apple rumors are heading into prescience. We’re also being told the iPhone 17 lineup for 2025 is expected to include the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Max. 

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says there will be a new iPhone 17 slim mode next year. He believes Apple will make a series of changes to enable that slim phone, including the introduction of a single camera lens; with a 6.6-in. display, A19 chip, and Dynamic Island, the device should still impress. What we don’t know is whether the 5G chip Apple plans will be one made by Apple. Kuo seems to think it will — and that this will be the most expensive iPhone you can buy.

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