It might seem like only yesterday that the iPhone 15 launched, but it's been seven months already. Which the iPhone 16 just five months away, we're closer to its launch than we are to the current model's.
September might seem a long way off, but the rumours have been circulating for months already. Going from the last few years, they can be pretty accurate, giving us a very good idea of what to expect.
"But you're What Hi-Fi?" we hear you say. "Why are you interested in a smartphone?" Firstly, because it plays music and movies, which is what we're all about. And secondly, because it's a crucial part of the Apple ecosystem – changes to the iPhone could affect the Apple TV 4K streaming box, HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini smart speakers, AirPods wireless earbuds and beyond. Other smartphone makers are sure to take inspiration from Apple's lead too, with the ripple effect reaching far and wide across rival brands' technologies.
If you want to know what the iPhone 16 will offer, and how it will compare against the Samsung Galaxy S24, you're in the right place.
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iPhone 16 release date prediction
The iPhone launch is an established date on the tech calendar. We have new TVs announced at CES in January, the new Samsung Galaxy S handset in mid-January or February, and a new iPhone every September.
Exactly when in September is a little harder to narrow down. And it's too early for any launch dates to leak. Past iPhones have been announced on these dates:
- iPhone 11: 10th September, 2019
- iPhone 12: 13th October, 2020
- iPhone 13: 14th September, 2021
- iPhone 14: 7th September, 2022
- iPhone 15: 12th September, 2023
Apart from the iPhone 12 – which was delayed by the global pandemic – all recent iPhones have launched in early to mid September. Hence the week commencing 9th September 2024 is a good guess for the iPhone 16.
iPhone 16 price estimate
Again, it's too early for Apple to have set the iPhone 16's price just yet. But we can certainly estimate.
The iPhone 15 range launched as below:
- iPhone 15: £799 / $799 / AU$1499 (128GB); £899 / $899 / AU$1699 (256GB); £1099 / $1099 / AU$2049 (512GB)
- iPhone 15 Plus: £899 / $899 / AU$1649 (128GB); £999 / $999 / AU$1849 (256GB); £1199 / $1199 / AU$2199 (512GB)
- iPhone 15 Pro: £999 / $999 / AU$1849 (128GB); £1099 / $1099 / AU$2049 (256GB); £1299 / $1299 / AU$2399 (512GB); £1499 / $1499 / AU$2749 (1TB)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: £1199 / $1199 / AU$2199 (256GB); £1399 / $1399 / AU$2549 (512GB); £1599 / $1599 / AU$2899 (1TB)
These prices were actually slightly lower than expected. What with the price of everything increasing, and all the improvements Apple made to the handset (not to mention Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that people were willing to pay more for such a quality device), all signs pointed to a price increase. But it didn't happen.
Can Apple keep the price down this year? Difficult to say. If it does follow through and increase the screen size for some models, as is rumoured, it might use this to justify a price increase. But the price bump would most likely be modest to avoid turning off potential customers. The Samsung Galaxy S24 starts at the same price as the iPhone 15 (though the S24 is slightly cheaper in Australia), which again suggests no big price increase for the iPhone 16.
iPhone 16 screen rumours
The iPhone's screen size options could change for the first time in years, if one rumour is to be believed.
According to display analyst Ross Young, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could have slightly bigger screens than their iPhone 15 counterparts. Young says the Pro will grow to 6.3 inches (up from 6.1) and the Pro Max to 6.9 inches (from 6.7). Bloomberg's Mark Gurman – an authority on all things Apple – agrees, saying the screen on the iPhone 16 Pro models could grow by 0.2 inches.
If true, this would be the first change in size for the Pro models since the introduction of the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max back in 2020. It would also make the display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max the biggest iPhone screen ever.
The non-Pro models are thought to remain at 6.1 inches for the standard iPhone 16, and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 16 Plus. This would provide another point of difference between the Pro and non-Pro models.
Bigger screens would mean more space for gaming controls, as well as a more immersive viewing experience. Ideal for fans of games and movies alike, then. Though you might need bigger pockets to accommodate it...
Bigger screens will also sap battery life quicker, right? Not necessarily, as the iPhone 16 displays could be more power efficient. Samsung Display is reportedly developing a new material set specifically for Apple. The tech, called M14, replaces the blue fluorescent technology currently used with blue phosphorescence tech, which makes the screen more power efficient than the LTPO displays on current iPhone Pro models. According to The Elec, the M14 will debut in iPhones in 2024.
The screens could also be brighter, thanks to the use of Micro Lens Array (MLA) tech. This was seen in LG's excellent G3 OLED TV (and its follow-up, the G4), and helps to boost brightness by using tiny internal lenses (or 'lenslets') to redirect reflections. These can either be directed to boost the on-screen picture brightness, or to maintain it at the current level but increase efficiency by using less power, hence extending battery life. But as yet Apple is still only considering the tech, and so hasn't committed to it, according to Korean publication The Elec,.
iPhone 16 design whispers
One of the biggest on-off rumours about the iPhone 16 concerns whether it will have any physical buttons at all. This one has been doing the rounds for a while – the iPhone 15 Pro was rumoured to have capacitive volume and power buttons in place of the standard push buttons. The iPhone 16 was subsequently rumoured to have one capacitive button, known internally as the Capture button. Now comes word that all of the iPhone 16's buttons will be capacitive.
That applies to all four buttons (Action, power, volume and Capture) on all iPhone 16 variants, according to Chinese news outlet Economic Daily (via AppleInsider). It reports that a semiconductor supplier has been given a large order for capacitive buttons by Apple. Though given that it's not due to ramp up production until the third quarter (i.e. right before the iPhone 16 launch), it's more likely that the phone will have one capacitive button at first, with subsequent-generation models possibly having more.
What's the point of capacitive buttons? Longevity. Because they have fewer moving parts, they're less prone to wear and tear, meaning they should last longer. They would also be sensitive to pressure (and so react differently depending on how hard you push them) and respond with tiny vibrations known as haptic feedback, so it feels like they're moving when they aren't. They're said to work in the same way as the capacitive 'click' on Apple's Magic Trackpad.
iPhone 16 camera rumours
The iPhone's camera is one of the best around, and every year, is one of Apple's focal points (if you'll excuse the pun) for improving the handset. In 2024, it might get a more powerful zoom.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons the iPhone 16 Pro will get the same 5x optical zoom system as the 16 Pro Max (the 15 Pro only has a 3x optical zoom). However, this could have a knock-on effect to the design, and necessitate a thicker body for the 16 Pro.
The cameras could have a new look too, from the rear at least. According to a Twitter user called Unknownz21 (via MacRumors), the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus could have a vertical camera arrangement, like that of the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini (pictured). It's thought that this layout – as opposed to the diagonal arrangement used since – could help the phones capture spatial video for Apple's Vision Pro augmented reality headset.
iPhone 16 features hearsay
That's the price, release date, screens and cameras covered. But what about the all-important features and specs?
One surprising rumour (via MacRumors) says that all four iPhone 16 variants will feature a new A18 processor. This would break from the norm, as currently the Pro and non-Pro models have different-generation chips: the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus feature the same A16 Bionic as the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, while the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have the A17 Pro processor.
But maybe it wouldn't be such a change after all. According to analyst Jeff Pu (the source of the rumour), the iPhone 16 Pro variants would feature the A18 Bionic Pro, with the non-Pro models running on the standard A18 processor. So there would still be some difference in performance between the Pro and non-Pro models.
Pu claims the A18 chip will be manufactured with TSMC's 3 nanometer process. It's likely only power users would notice the difference in performance between the two chips.
We could see more artificial intelligence used in the iPhone 16, too. Mark Gurman predicts iOS 18 – the operating system that will launch with the iPhone 16 – will feature upgraded AI tech capable of improving "how both Siri and the Messages app can field questions and auto-complete sentences." A crucial part of this could be the use of large language models, which are used to train the virtual assistant and make it smarter. The Information claims this will be enabled via a software update sometime in 2024.
With Samsung going all in on artificial intelligence for the Galaxy S24 (including circle to search functionality and real-time translation during phone calls), more AI is a dead cert for the iPhone 16. But it might not be homegrown. According to Bloomberg, Apple is in talks to license Google's Gemini AI technology for use cases like image and text generation. Gemini also powers the AI on Samsung's Galaxy S24, so the two phones could have very similar AI features.
On the physical side, we can expect the Action button to come to all four iPhone 16 variants (at present it's only on the iPhone 15 Pro models). This is according to MacRumors. The Action button replaced the mute switch, and is customisable, and so can be set to enable the phone's torch, camera and a specific Focus mode, among others. According to the same site, the button will look the same as the current one (previously its design was rumoured to change).
We could also see an extra 'Capture' button on the same side as the power button – though at the moment its function is unknown.
A new thermal design using graphene could be on the cards to combat overheating (via MacRumors). This was a problem on some iPhone 15 models, until Apple fixed it with a software update.
Apple might use a new kind of flash memory, which could impact on usage, according to DigiTimes. Quad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND Flash would be an upgrade on Apple's current Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND Flash, as it would allow more storage in a smaller physical space, either allowing for higher-capacity storage options (2TB, anyone?) or cheaper existing capacities. But it could also mean slower read and write speeds – Apple could lessen this by customising it, but that would eat into the savings it would make. Would you sacrifice a bit of performance for more storage or a cheaper iPhone?
Analyst Jeff Pu (via MacRumors) reckons the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will have more RAM than their existing equivalents – 8GB compared to 6GB for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. Which would help with performance, especially in light of the potentially slower QLC NAND Flash.
A folding iPhone is the rumour that refuses to die – it's been doing the rounds ever since the first foldable phones emerged. But it's just had a fresh outing, courtesy of a Twitter user leaking Apple's roadmap, which reportedly originated from Korean financial services company Samsung Securities. This says a foldable iPhone will arrive in 2026, with an iPhone SE 4 supposedly arriving in 2025. The usual disclaimers about pinches of salt apply.
iPhone 16: our take
Bigger and brighter screens, processors with more grunt, a better zoom... the iPhone 16 is shaping up well, and it's still five months away! A lot will hinge on price – Apple reported a near 3 per cent rise in iPhone sales in its November 2023 report, a lot of which was undoubtedly down to the lack of a price hike. If it can do the same again, it could be onto a winner.
But that's a big 'if'. While inflation is falling around the world, the cost of materials and energy continue to rise, just at a slower rate. Which makes producing devices like iPhones an expensive business.
Then there's the competition. September is a long way off, and plenty of rivals could leapfrog Apple before then. Samsung's Galaxy S24 is very impressive – the four-star Galaxy S24 Ultra makes a promising start with AI in a smartphone. And Sony's Xperia models are always among the best smartphones for music and movies – we're expecting new handsets for 2024.
We'll keep this feature updated with more iPhone 16 rumours, news and leaks as they come.
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