We’re eagerly awaiting the launch of the iPhone 16 lineup, which is set to be unveiled at the upcoming “GlowTime” event on September 9. In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of the 16 biggest changes expected in the new iPhone 16s. From larger displays to camera-centric hardware, let’s dive into what you can expect from the iPhone 16.
Be sure to check out the video below for a more detailed look at some of these changes!
1. Capture button
The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro are set to feature a new dedicated shutter button, making it easier to quickly take photos and record videos. The idea here is that iPhones have become, if not already, people’s primary camera. So a dedicated shutter that provides haptic feedback and allows for a half-press makes sense to add to these devices. We’ve already received a few cases that feature a cutout in the bottom third of the case for the new button.
2. Thinner edges
In addition to larger displays, Apple will significantly reduce the bezel size on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. This means a larger display and less bezel, providing a sleek, modern look while maximizing display area.
- 15 Pro Frame: 1.71mm
- 15 Pro Max frame: 1.55mm
- 16 Pro Frame: 1.2mm
- 16 Pro Max: 1.15mm
3. New colors for professional models
The Pro models will also see new color options. You may have seen some images circulating about a possible brown color. Let's see what Apple has to offer us for the new Pro model color.
4. 5x optical zoom on 16 Pro
With the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, Apple decided to give us two different camera systems. Only the 15 Pro Max had a new 5x optical zoom, while the Pro version only had a 3x telephoto lens. With the new 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, both phones should have a 5x optical zoom lens.
5. Apple's intelligence
The Apple Intelligence feature will be interesting. I would like to remind people that these new iPhone 16s will come with iOS 18.0 pre-installed. The Apple Intelligence feature won’t be available until iOS 18.1. But rest assured that every iPhone 16 will be able to support the new Apple Intelligence feature. I’m excited to see what people think of all this.
6. Brighter screen
Apple seems to be bringing us brighter displays on these iPhones every year. The current Pro and Pro Max models have 2,000 nits. The new iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are rumored to get even brighter OLED MLA displays. So if you think your iPhone isn’t bright enough in direct sunlight, this phone should be able to fix that.
7. Support Wi-Fi 7
While Wi-Fi 7 is starting to become the norm on modern routers, the new iPhones will support Wi-Fi 7. This should allow for faster Wi-Fi speeds as well as longer range than before.
8. Faster charging
Right now, the best charging an iPhone can support is relatively slow compared to its Android counterpart. The iPhone 15 can charge at 27W when plugged into a wall outlet and 15W when using a Magsafe Certified or Qi2 wireless charger. The new iPhone is supposed to support up to 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe charging.
9. New professional ultra-wide angle camera
Apple introduced a new 48-megapixel camera on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The other two cameras remained at the 12-megapixel standard that Apple has been using for nearly a decade. The new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will now get a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera to match the quality of the wide lens.
10. Bigger battery
The entire iPhone 16 lineup is said to have larger batteries. As a reminder, here are the battery capacities for the iPhone 15 lineup:
- iPhone 15: 3,349 mAh
- iPhone 15 Plus: 4,383 mAh
- iPhone 15 Pro: 3274 mAh
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,422 mAh
Here are the rumored capacities for the iPhone 16:
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,676 mAh (5.7% increase)
- iPhone 16: 3,561 mAh (6.3% increase)
- iPhone 16 Plus: 4,006 mAh (8.6% decrease)
- iPhone 16 Pro: 3,355 mAh (2.5% increase)
This should be achieved using the new stacked battery method instead of the traditional single-layer design.
11. A18 Pro chip
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will be powered by the new A18 Pro chip. This should give us faster performance, improved efficiency, and better graphics overall. The big deal here is that there will be a heavy focus on RAM, which will hopefully give these iPhones the ability to run Apple Intelligence features without any issues.
12. New iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Colors
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have always given us more color options. Most of the time, these colors are very muted. This time, Apple seems to really saturate these colors and let them pop.
Here are the expected colors:
- blue
- Carnation color
- white
- black
- green
13. 3K Slow Motion Video
Apple is bringing us a new slow-mo feature for the first time since we got the slow-mo feature. The new mode will give us the ability to shoot at 120 frames per second in 3K resolution. Currently, current iPhones support 120 frames per second in 1080p and 240 frames per second in 720p. I personally don’t shoot a lot of slow-mo videos, but maybe I will now.
14. Bigger screens
Apple will increase the screen size of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max for the first time in years.
As for this year's iPhone 16 lineup, here's what we're expecting:
- iPhone 16: 6.1 inches
- iPhone 16 Plus: 6.7 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro: 6.3 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 6.9 inches
15. New camera design
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will both return to a vertical camera orientation. The iPhone 12 and 12 mini had vertical cameras and then Apple decided to change it. No one really knows why. But they will return to vertical with the new models so they can record spatial video. This spatial video can be viewed again on the Vision Pro.
16. JPEG XL support
Recent rumors say that the iPhone 16 will support JPEG XL format. JPEG XL is an image format that offers better compression ratios and image quality than JPEG. It is designed to be computationally efficient and can be used on mobile devices without additional hardware acceleration. The idea here is to compress video file sizes but up to 3X, allowing us to store more on local and external storage.
Final Thoughts
As the “Glow Time” event approaches, the excitement for the iPhone 16 continues to build. I know these changes tend to be less prevalent year after year. But as an iPhone 15 Pro Max user, I’m excited to see what Apple has in store for us. And I’m even more excited to see what new marketing terms they come up with, too!
Let me know what you think. Would you buy a new iPhone? If so, which phone would you like to upgrade to? I'd love to discuss below!
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