iPhone 16 Features and Pricing: What to Expect
With lots of rumors surrounding Apple's release in September, here is a compilation of the ones that are most likely true.
It's about that time of the year when we can expect Apple to unveil their latest flagship device. There have been many speculations and fan-made guesses over what to expect from the Cupertino tech giant next, like a side button and dedicated capture button.
Overall, the iPhone 16 lineup is expected to boast a significant upgrade from last year's flagship phones, all the way from the device's size to its AI integration.
Apple has a history of showcasing its releases early in September. This is exactly why many speculate the reveal date will most likely be on the 10th of the month. This prediction is also backed by the fact that Apple always has its reveals on Tuesdays, with only very few exceptional cases.
So, here we have aggregated some of the more prevalent / slightly confirmed rumours to stoke your anticipation for the device launch later this year.
Henry Chikwem
Design and Display
The look and feel of the iPhone 16 lineup could potentially be their biggest yet if rumours about the device's size are true. With only small potential differences talked about here and there, it might be difficult to tell the difference between it and last year's iPhone 15 lineup when it finally becomes available.
Colour
Based on unconfirmed rumours from CNET, iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are expected to come in five colours; Black, blue, green, pink, and white. But it could be more with some speculating that there might be a yellow and purple one.
On the other hand, the Pro models are very likely to come in just four colours; bronze, grey, space black, and white
Size
The 16 Pro models are rumoured to be bigger this time. The 16 Pro will reportedly measure 6.3 inches and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will measure 6.9 inches. This would make the 16 Pro Max the biggest iPhone to date if true.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, however, are rumoured to follow the less flashy route and stay at a modest 6.1 and 6.7 inches respectively.
Phone Build
In March, Apple Insider published images showcasing 3D-printed mockups of the upcoming iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. These leaked photos suggest a potential design shift, with the iPhone 16 featuring a vertical camera arrangement instead of the diagonal setup seen in previous models.
Additionally, the images hint at the inclusion of an action button, similar to the one introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro. The prevailing theory from MacRumors is that this button would be programmable to do things like activating the Flashlight, turning on the Camera, launching a Shortcut, enabling or disabling a Focus mode and more.
There is also reportedly a dedicated capture button that should function like the button on an actual camera. It can be pressed only slightly to focus and then completely to take a picture or record a video.
Screen Resolution
Based on a post from Apple Hub on X (Twitter), the iPhone 16 lineup is expected to have a 60hz refresh rate on its base models and up to 120hz refresh rate on its Pro models, all on an OLED display.
Specification and Expectations
Improved battery life, enhanced camera capabilities, and cutting-edge display technologies are on this year's wish list. However, concrete details on these aspects are still scarce at this point. Here are some more concrete rumours as regards the specs of this device compiled.
Processing Chip
As expected, the iPhone 16 lineup is expected to be a significant leap from what we got last year in terms of specs. Expectations are high, but following the trend of using the same processing chips for two years, our expectations might get fallen short of.
The iPhones 16 and 16 Plus could stick with the A17 Pro chip as found in the iPhone 15 Pro as they have a history of doing that, or, they could come with their own A18 chip. If the rumours are true, the Pro models would be fitted with more powerful versions of the A18 chip.
Storage
Rumours have it that all the phones in the lineup will roll out with at least 8 GB RAM. The iPhone 16, 16 Plus and Pro models will reportedly have base storage of 128 GB but the pro models could potentially have versions that come up to 2TB while the rest would max out at 256 GB of storage.
AI Capabilities
Gathered from CNET, these new AI features are expected to ship on all the models of the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup with iOS 18 right out of the box.
The usual features that come with AI like writing tools, generative photo editing features and a smarter version of Siri aided by ChatGPT are expected. It's rumoured that all the AI niche features like the calculator app will be available in this year's release but aside from that, not much has been mentioned about this prospect.
Not much has been speculated about the software side of the device either, but stay buckled in and await the wonders Apple Intelligence will be able to do at the unveiling. Hopefully, Apple will come up with things more captivating than its competitors at this year's event.
Conclusion
With this year's Apple release rumoured to start at a modest $799 at launch (the same price as last year's iPhone 15), we could get a lot of packed features in the device compared to last year's iPhone.
However, all of the information we have gotten so far could still easily change at any time as nothing is confirmed yet. For all we know, Apple could decide to shock the world by presenting its clamshell-like folding phone this September and leave us with just that.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
