iPhone 16: Everything you need to know about the upcoming launch

Macworld

The iPhone 16 is set to launch on Monday, September 9 at Apple’s Glowtime event. If you want to be surprised, close this tab now, because we know a lot about the new phones—read on to find out.

During the event we will update this article with the latest info, but you can also follow along with our Glowtime event live blog.

Updated September 6: Over at 9to5Mac they have a few additional minor details about the iPhone 16 cameras, beyond what was previously reported.

iPhone 16 Release date: When will iPhone 16 come out?

Apple has an event scheduled for Monday September 9 at which you can expect the company to unveil the new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Read all about the Apple September iPhone event and what else to expect in our sepatate article.

The typical day for the iPhone and Apple Watch event is the second Tuesday in September, which this year is September 10. However, Apple has decided to hold the event a day early, on Monday, September 9. It’s the first time since 2010, when Apple announced the iPhone 4 at WWDC, that Apple has held the iPhone event on a Monday.

The iPhone lineup will be announced at the Monday event, but the phone is unlikely to go on sale straight away.

Apple usually ships the new iPhones week or two after the Apple Event. In fact, there have been times when a particular model or variant will ship in October because of supply chain shortages, however.

In 2023 the iPhone 15 was announced on Tuesday, September 12. Pre-orders started on Friday, September 15, and the phones went on sale on Friday, September 22.

On that basis, we expect the following:

iPhone 16 pre-orders on Friday, September 13,

iPhone 16 on sale on Friday, September 22.

iPhone 16 price: How much will the new iPhone 16 cost?

We expect that the new iPhone 16 will have the same price as the iPhone 15 series does.

For reference, the iPhone 15 is priced as follows:

iPhone 15: $799/£799

iPhone 15 Plus: $899/£899

iPhone 15 Pro: $999/£999

iPhone 15 Pro Max: $1,199/£1,199

There’s no new information about the pricing of the iPhone 16 line, so it makes the most sense to assume it will cost the same as the iPhone 15 line, at least until we hear otherwise. That means the standard size iPhone 16 for $799 and the larger Plus model for $899, while the iPhone 16 Pro may cost $1,099 due to the zoom camera (see below) and the iPhone 16 Pro Max might go for $1,199.

The iPhone 16 may have a smaller Dynamic Island.

Artur Tomala / Foundry

iPhone 16 colors: What are the colors for the iPhone 16?

When Apple launched the iPhone 15, it introduced an entirely new color palette. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come in familiar Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink options, but with much more muted hues than their predecessors. The iPhone 16 is said to come in white, black, blue, green, and pink. A leak from Sonny Dickson on X reportedly shows the new models:

pic.twitter.com/0vlSFnwzR4

— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) July 31, 2024

For the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Apple uses four titanium-inspired colors: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, and Natural Titanium. For 2024, the latest leak shows a darker black color and the Blue Titanium replaced with something that has a very brown or bronze hue. A previous rumor suggested “Desert yellow” as the name for this color, but there doesn’t appear to be much yellow in it.

Sonny Dickson

iPhone 16 cases

Lots of third-party case leaks are circulating leading up to the launch of the iPhone 16, and most have a strategic cutout on the right side for the new Capture button (see below for more information). However, Apple’s own cases are said to have a design that eliminates the need for a clunky cutout, instead using a thinner membrane that allows swipes and touches.

iPhone 16 features: what new features are coming to the iPhone 16?

Design and display

There are few details about the iPhone 16 lineup so far, except that it should look, well, like an iPhone. The entire iPhone 15 line now has the Dynamic Island, so expect that pill-shaped cutout on the iPhone 16 models as well. Some rumors say Apple has found a way to put some of the Face ID sensors under the display, so the iPhone 16 Pro models could have an even smaller camera cutout than the standard models.

Ming-Chi Kuo and Ross Young both report that the display size on the Pro models will be getting bigger–about 0.2 inches measured diagonally–with a slightly taller aspect ratio. That means the iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.27-inch display and the Pro Max a 6.86-inch display (up from 6.12 and 6.69 inches). The larger size is reportedly necessary to accommodate more sophisticated camera hardware but will also add a bit of screen real estate. A later report about the iPhone 16 display supply chain corroborated the notion of an iPhone 16 (at least some models) with slimmer bezels. A mock-up by ZoneOfTech shows that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could be bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. ZonOfTech doesn’t state how it got the dimensions and specifications used to create the mock-up.

If you were hoping to get an always-on display without buying an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max, you’re probably out of luck. According to a report in The Elec, Apple will stick with standard OLED screens for the iPhone 16 rather than the LPTO screens in the Pro models so they won’t support ProMotion or always-on. However, the iPhone 17 will reportedly get the higher-end screens.

On the back of the iPhones, you should also expect to see a slightly larger camera array on the iPhone 16 Pro models due to the inclusion of a periscope super-zoom telephoto lens on both models and other new camera tech. However, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are rumored to be getting a smaller camera array with a pair of vertically aligned cameras like the iPhone X.

New to the iPhone 16 lineup will be a Capture Button, according to several reports. It will be on the same side as the power button, located lower, so it can be activated with the index finger of your right hand when holding the phone in landscape orientation. It will be touch and pressure-sensitive, allowing users to zoom in by swiping and to adjust focus with a soft press while triggering the shutter with a full press.

The iPhone 15 Pro models were originally expected to introduce new solid-state buttons, but more recent rumors suggest they simply won’t be ready in time and will appear on the iPhone 16 Pro instead. Regardless, all iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to feature an Action button in place of the mute switch, which should expand to the entire iPhone 16 lineup in 2024.

The iPhone 16 could have an even bigger camera array.

Thai Nguyen/Unsplash

Processor

With each new iPhone comes a new A-series processor, and you can bet the trend will continue next year. The iPhone 16 Pro will therefore likely feature the A18 Pro processor, while the non-Pro iPhone 16 models could adopt a cut-down version of the A17 Pro that debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro, although recent rumors have suggested Apple will rebrand that chip as an A18. It is far too early to speculate about next year’s chip’s features and performance, but it’s unlikely that next year’s non-Pro iPhones will have the same Pro chip as this year. A rumor in March 2024 claimed the A18 Pro chip would be physically larger, with more area dedicated to an improved Neural Engine with the performance to support Apple Intelligence.

Battery and charging

The battery capacities of the iPhone 16 lineup are reportedly very similar to that of the iPhone 15 line, with some models as much as 5 percent higher and the iPhone 16 Plus an outlier with 9 percent less capacity:

iPhone 16: 3561mAh (+6%)

iPhone 16 Plus: 4006mAh (-9%)

iPhone 16 Pro: 3355mAh (+2.5%)

iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4676mAh (+5%)

A leak in August claims the iPhone 16 Pro will get a more significant 9 percent bump (3,577 mAh vs 3,274 mAh).

A rumor in November 2023 claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro would have a new battery design with a metal casing instead of black foil and a new connector. This new battery is expected to be somewhat easier to replace in order to better comply with a new EU regulation, according to The Information. Users would still need to open up their iPhones, which is not exactly easy or fast, but once that is done you shouldn’t have to wrestle with adhesive strips.

Charging speeds on Pro models could get much faster, with one rumor saying to expect 40W wired and 20W MagSafe wireless charging.

Camera

According to the latest information, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will have a slightly wider aperture on the Ultra Wide camera and support macro photography for the first time.

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will get an upgrade 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and the 5x telephoto camera will no longer be exclusive to the Pro Max—it will be found on both Pro models.

All iPhone 16s will get a new Camera button on the lower right side, so it sits under your index finger when you hold your phone in landscape orientation. The button will be able to launch whichever camera or video app you wish, and will use capacitive touch sensing and haptics. Developers can choose what to do when you half-press the button or slide your finger back and forth along it, for example.

The iPhone 16 Pro models will be able to shoot at 4K up to 120fps (the current limit is 60fps) and all models should be able to pause and resume recording video in the Camera app.

Apple will add support for JPEG-XL, offering better quality and compression than HEIC.

5G, RAM, and other specs

Apple has been hard at work on its own wireless chips for years, and even Qualcomm’s CEO expects Apple to use its own 5G modems starting in 2024. Obviously, this is contingent on continued successful development and testing, which has been a challenge for Apple and every other company trying to make top-tier 5G technology. A report by Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities in October 2023 claimed that the iPhone 16 will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 5G modem, which delivers “better speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness and location accuracy.”

In addition, Pu reports that we can expect Wi-Fi 7 in the iPhone 16 Pro models. Wi-Fi 6E only arrived in the Pro models this year, so it’s possible Apple uses it for another year, but there are already a dozen Android phones with Wi-Fi 7 and it would be unusual for Apple to be two years behind if it had to wait until the iPhone 17 in 2025.

As far as other specs, Pu reports that the non-Pro iPhone 16 will bring a bump in RAM (8GB vs 6GB) and WiFi speeds (6E vs 6) to match the iPhone 15 Pro models and support Apple intelligence.

Naturally, the iPhone 16 line will feature USB-C instead of Lightning for charging and wired connectivity. That change already came with the iPhone 15 and Apple isn’t about to backtrack. Prior rumors about Apple attempting to make a completely port-free iPhone seem to have fizzled out.