iPhone 16 Pro: what to expect from Apple's fall 2024 flagship phone

AppleInsider

Apple will announce the iPhone 16 Pro lineup during the fall 2024 Apple Event, and there are some changes coming. Here's what the rumor mill has to say and what we think it looks like.

iPhone 16 Pro rumor roundup

Rumors surrounding the iPhone 16 lineup suggest Apple will continue to evolve its differentiation between pro and non-pro models. Photography features make up a significant portion of the rumors, but some hints about potential design changes have also leaked.

It's March, so Apple has likely finalized what's coming in every iPhone model as production ramps up. However, rumors tend to arrive weeks or months after the information is generated internally, leading to last-minute changes in what is expected.

Here's what we know so far.

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iPhone 16 Pro design rumors

Currently, it appears as though Apple plans to maintain the current two-tiered system for iPhones. The standard iPhone and iPhone Plus will feature nearly identical specs but different screen sizes, while the pro models will have additional premium features.

iPhone 16 Pro external designs won't change much

Both pro phones in the lineup will allegedly get a bump up in size. The iPhone 16 Pro will boast a 6.27-inch display (159.31 mm). The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in at 6.85 inches (174.06 mm).

Majin Bu, a leaker with a shaky track record, has also suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro will come in two colorways: Desert Yellow and Cement Gray.

By March 26, a Weibo post claimed the Pro palette could be Space Black, White, Gray, and Rose, with Blue removed from the iPhone 15 Pro's range.

A few days later, on March 29, the casing rumors offered that an improved manufacturing process could change the titanium model to have a more polished look.

On April 3, the color change rumors continued, with the proposal on Weibo that Apple could use the same color-infusing method of the iPhone 15 and Plus in its Pro line. Color could be infused into the back glass, and through a dual-ion exchange process and a nanocrystalline particle polish, it could have an etched textured matte finish.

The Action button could be added to the standard iPhone 16 models. Rumors fluctuated around whether the Action button would be capacitive or mechanical, but ultimately landed on mechanical, if a little larger.

iPhone 16 Pro rumors suggest there will be new buttons

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max could see some changes to the external case design or, more specifically, the buttons. Apple is expected to add an additional button called the Capture button, but more on that in the photography section.

Outside of button changes and slight size increases, the iPhone 16 lineup will likely look incredibly similar to the iPhone 15 lineup it replaces. Apple rarely performs significant design changes, so expect flat sides and a Dynamic Island on all models.

iPhone 16 Pro photography upgrades

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is currently the only model in the iPhone range with a Tetraprism lens. This lens improves the telephoto lens's focal length from 3x to 5x the Main Camera, translating to 120 mm.

iPhone 16 Pro is rumored to have improved camera systems

While the iPhone 15 Pro doesn't have this feature, there is a possibility that the iPhone 16 Pro might include the Tetraprism lens. A supply chain report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo doubles down on this rumor.

Multiple rumors corroborate the potential size increase for pro iPhone models, which would provide enough space for the Tetraprism lens.

According to a recent leak, the triple-camera setup on the iPhone 16 Pro may include another 48-megapixel sensor. Specifically, the rumor claims that Apple will add in a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens.

iPhone 16 Pro could have a 48MP Ultra Wide Camera

Apple's push for a higher resolution Ultra Wide Camera would benefit photos taken with the 0.5x mode or macro mode, but there's likely a more important reason for the upgrade -- spatial video capture. Shooting 3D video with an iPhone relies on the Ultra Wide Camera and Main Camera, taking the former to 48MP up from 12MP would make a significant difference.

Continuing the trend of camera upgrades, the iPhone 16 Pro could use molded glass lenses to reduce camera bump thickness and weight while increasing magnification distance.

iPhone 16 Pro could have a reduced camera bump thanks to new build techniques

Standard iPhones have seen multiple camera spec upgrades in recent years, and iPhone 15 increased the Main Camera to 48MP. So, Apple likely has little planned beyond one rumored change.

The camera bump on the standard iPhones could move back to a vertical configuration rather than diagonal. This would allow standard iPhone users to capture spatial video for Apple Vision Pro.

While not a lens or camera sensor rumor, one from April 15 via leaker Yeuz1122 offered that a lens coating could improve your shots. Using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), the technique produces a layer just a few nanometers thick that can be applied precisely and evenly to lenses, such as curved lenses.

This is the equivalent of adding a filter, which could reduce flaring in some situations. However, by using the technique, it eliminates the risk of ghosting from adding more lens elements and physical filters to an arrangement.

The Capture button -- or buttons?

Leaked CAD drawings

suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro could feature a new Capture button and an enlarged Action Button. The same render shows that the iPhone 16 Pro could be slightly larger than its predecessor.

iPhone 16 Pro could feature a new Capture button

The Capture button is rumored to be located below the sleep/wake button on the right side of the iPhone. The mmWave antenna is currently located there, so it would need to move to the opposite side under the volume buttons.

Rumors have danced around exactly how Apple would configure the button. Like the Action button before it, rumors suggested Apple would make it capacitive and force sensitive, but those rumors died out.

A report has claimed that the Capture button may be mechanical. This would allow users to swipe to adjust zoom levels, and then a half-press would focus the shot.

On March 26, a leaked photo showed one accessory maker's take on the extra button. The shot showed a black bumper with a clear rear section, and a section cut out for the proposed Capture button.

Dummy iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro units, 3D-printed, also seemingly showed what the Capture button could look like on the iPhone itself on the same day. At least, if the models are accurate.

Other iPhone 16 Pro rumors

There's not much left to say about iPhone 16 Pro beyond the obvious. There's some debate about which processor the standard models will use.

iPhone 16 Pro could be a significant upgrade if everything rumored is released

The existence of the A17 Pro suggests there could be an A17 meant for the iPhone 16. Or, to realign the numbering, Apple could use an A18 for the standard models and A18 Pro for iPhone 16 Pro models.

A separate chip-focused rumor repeated the idea of A18 and A18 Pro for 2024 iPhones. Perhaps Apple believes the chips need to be named similarly to keep customers from thinking they are getting an outdated device.

As far as storage goes, some rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro could double the maximum storage of its predecessor, up to 2TB. The same rumor corroborated another report that suggested the model may also get higher-density, slower QLC flash memory.

The iPhone 16 lineup is expected to be revealed at an Apple event in early September 2024. Pricing should remain similar, with standard models starting at $799 and pro models starting at $1,199.



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quakerotis

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

blastdoor

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

tmay

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

I don't disagree.

I wish that I could choose which Apple device is active at any time, so that I get the benefit a single phone number, something like, "tag, you're it!" when I wake the phone.

I'd pay a premium for that, but I wouldn't pay for multiple "virtual" lines.

charlesn

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

Wolflow

Would love to see a device with camera lenses built in the chassis instead on top of it.

This would make space for a decent battery capacity as well.

pulseimages

charlesn said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

Amazing except the iPhone SE’s battery life sucks! 

charlesn

pulseimages said:

charlesn said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

Amazing except the iPhone SE’s battery life sucks! 

Which SE? The 2022 edition, with a bigger battery and more efficient processor improved battery life by 2 hours over the 2020 edition. And both versions still improves... by A LOT... on the iPhones of what blastdoor calls the "era of thin." And hey, if you want a bigger battery, there's always the iPhone 15, which is just a few tenths of a millimeter thicker than the iPhone 5--and that's indistinguishable in the hand. 

pulseimages

charlesn said:

pulseimages said:

charlesn said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

Amazing except the iPhone SE’s battery life sucks! 

Which SE? The 2022 edition, with a bigger battery and more efficient processor improved battery life by 2 hours over the 2020 edition. And both versions still improves... by A LOT... on the iPhones of what blastdoor calls the "era of thin." And hey, if you want a bigger battery, there's always the iPhone 15, which is just a few tenths of a millimeter thicker than the iPhone 5--and that's indistinguishable in the hand. 

The 2022 iPhone SE allows for 5G where the 2020 version only had 4G. The 2022 version doesn’t even last as long as the 4G version when connected to 5G. 

charlesn

Wolflow said:

Would love to see a device with camera lenses built in the chassis instead on top of it.

This would make space for a decent battery capacity as well.

Hah, wouldn't we all? Since I migrated to iPhone photography from the world of full-frame pro digital cameras and lenses, I find the complaints about the camera bumps on iPhone to be pretty amusing. Photographically speaking, the tools at your disposal in an IPhone, especially the Pro models, compared to the total space within the phone allotted for them is nothing sort of a technological miracle. OR... forget pro camera equipment and pick your favorite "tiny" mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. Now find three fixed focal length lenses for that camera: 13mm, 24mm and 120mm. Check out the size and total weight of those lenses, because that's what you've got at the back of an iPhone Pro Max. I have no doubt that some day the iPhone lenses will be integrated within the chassis again, no bump. And who knows, it may be a single lens where any focal length can be generated via AI with no loss in image quality. But my guess is that we're still at least a few years away from that. 

anantksundaram

Innovation!!

My ass. 

blastdoor

tmay said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

I don't disagree.

I wish that I could choose which Apple device is active at any time, so that I get the benefit a single phone number, something like, "tag, you're it!" when I wake the phone.

I'd pay a premium for that, but I wouldn't pay for multiple "virtual" lines.

That’s a fantastic idea 

blastdoor

charlesn said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

I know that I can buy an old phone using even older technology. That’s not what Air has typically meant. Air means the best thin and light that can be built today. That would be a nice option. 

DaleCannon

AppleInsider said:

The iPhone 16 lineup is expected to be revealed at an Apple event in early September 2024. Pricing should remain similar, with standard models starting at $799 and pro models starting at $1,199.


Should be $999 for Pro then....

M68000

DaleCannon said:

AppleInsider said:

The iPhone 16 lineup is expected to be revealed at an Apple event in early September 2024. Pricing should remain similar, with standard models starting at $799 and pro models starting at $1,199.


Should be $999 for Pro then....

How about base storage at 256GB for the $999 pro model?  That would be news.

Alekkss

charlesn said:

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

Guess what, blastdoor? You're in luck! The "era of thin" iPhone of your dreams--you know, like the iPhone 5, so thin and light--is available for purchase today! It's called the iPhone SE. Not only is it "as thin" as the iPhone 5... it's THINNER! Just 7.3mm vs 7.5mm for the 5. Sad news, though... it IS heavier! Yes, the SE weighs a whopping 1 gram more than the 5... actually, 1.1 grams... so that might be a deal breaker for you. But did I mention that the SE, while being thinner and about the same weight as a 5 has a screen that's 18% larger and leaves the 5 in the dust in every other aspect of the phone, in both performance and capabilites? So there's your "iPhone Air" available for purchase today! How hard was that?

Hey Charlesn! Great joke of yours! The main idea behind Air products is: same screen in a thinner and lighter product not a smaller and lighter product because I have less of a product with a screen that covers much less of its surface. But I guess you knew that. 

Alekkss

blastdoor said:

quakerotis said:

Let’s rearrange the deck chairs.

I actually non ironically would like a deck chair rearranged. My father has an old iPhone from the era of Thin. I happened to pick it up the other day and was struck by how nice it is to hold a thin and light phone. So maybe it’s time to create an iPhone Air whose main feature is thin and light. 

I'd love that too. At some point cellphone manufacturers were in a race for smaller and lighter phones than arrived smartphones and the trend went back to the opposite bigger and bigger. I'd love a product with decent performance in a lighter and thinner package!