When is the iPhone 16 released? At what price ? Will it incorporate generative AI? What will it look like? We take stock of all the rumors about Apple’s next smartphone, as well as its variations, the iPhone 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, and maybe even 16 Ultra.
The presentation of the new iPhones is generally the most anticipated recurring tech event of the year. Whether we already know everything about it or not, fans are massing in their thousands in front of their screens to attend this conference. This year, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected.
Between the brand’s habits, leaks and rumors, we already know a lot about these smartphones… So let’s take stock of all the details of the iPhone 16 family.
Release date: when is the new iPhone 16 coming out?
At the time of writing, Apple has not yet announced its annual event, so we do not have a specific date. However, Apple traditionally schedules its big conference in September, often on the second Tuesday of the month.
Here are the dates of the latest iPhone announcements:
- iPhone 15: September 12, 2023;
- iPhone 14: September 16, 2022;
- iPhone 13: September 14, 2022;
- iPhone 12: October 13, 2020 (Covid-19 year);
- iPhone 11: September 10, 2019.
If Apple sticks to its habits, the iPhone 16 should therefore be presented on September 10, 2024, without certainty of course. Once the phone is made official, Apple generally opens its pre-orders the following Friday (September 13?), for sale the following week (September 20?).
This schedule of course assumes that everything goes according to plan. In the event of a new global epidemic, a war involving China or the United States or a new embargo, everything could be seriously disrupted.
Apple is preparing an iPhone 16 Ultra?
In addition to the traditional iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, Apple could offer its range in a fifth model. In February 2023, Mark Gurman (journalist at Bloomberg) put forward the idea of an iPhone 16 Ultra, a smartphone serving as a 100% wireless technological showcase for charging and data transfer, a bit like the iPhone 8 (both released the same year). Some months later, 9to5Mac also mentioned this possibility when talking about a larger screen (6.9 inches).
Be careful though: this is not the first time that such a rumor has appeared online and it has not yet been supported by solid evidence. It therefore remains very likely that there will only be four models this year again.
Design: another new button?
Aside from the disappearance of the notch in favor of the island, the aesthetic changes of the iPhone have not been very marked in recent years. In 2024, the iPhone 16 should follow the general design of previous generations while providing some slight variations.
Dummy versions (used by prop makers) have appeared online, revealing two changes. The first corresponds to the arrangement of the photo lenses on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, again aligned vertically and no longer diagonally. The second is the presence of a new button on the right edge of the phone.
Sonny Dickson via X
We can see the presence of the action button on the left edge for the four versions (and no longer just the Pro), as well as a new button on the right. Surprisingly, this is not exclusive to certain models.
According to MacRumors, it would be a capacitive key. This could be used in particular to trigger the camera, but Mark Gurman (Bloomberg) suggests that it would be mainly devoted to video capture.
Finally, a little focus on the iPhone 16 Plus. This would be bad news, but it is rumored that its battery would be reduced by 9%. Enough to clear up a whole section of the interest of this model. Only its screen would still advantage it compared to the base model. Though. Ross Young mentions a reduction in the diagonal of this version, but on the iPhone 17 Plus. This is in order to push sales of the Pro Max. Would Apple decide to make this change from the iPhone 16 Plus? If it really has a smaller battery, that would be fine.
What technical sheet for the iPhone 16?
The A18 for the next iPhone
For several generations, Apple has created a range effect by reusing its processors from last year on its iPhones. basic» and therefore reserving the new chips for the iPhone Pro. This not only affects performance, but also the number of possible updates for each of these smartphones. However, the arrival of an A17 Pro chip suggests that the situation could change in 2024.
In all likelihood, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus would be equipped with an A18 SoC, while the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max versions would have a more efficient version, the A18 Pro. A change that would fit with the old iPad policy (Apple A*x for Pros and A* for others) and which would make the ranges more logical. In addition, this would give more legitimacy to the two cheapest iPhones in the range. In iOS 18, the traces of the four smartphones also show the presence of a new processor for each of them.
Note that both the A18 and the A18 Pro should be engraved using TSMC’s 3nm N3E process. This is TSMC’s second generation of 3nm engraving, aimed at optimizing energy performance. This change should therefore not change the face of things for the Pro version, but the transition from iPhone 15 to iPhone 16 would also mark the transition from 5 nm to 3 nm. Finer engraving, lower TDP, more controlled dissipation and therefore reduced thickness of the iPhone, it’s always good to dream!
Better connectivity
The A18 Pro chip should also be accompanied, on the iPhone 16 Pro, by a Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem. This should allow both Apple smartphones to benefit from a Wi-Fi 7 connection and 5G “Advanced» with better coverage, better latency and greater energy efficiency.
The standard iPhone 16 models should remain limited to Wi-Fi 6E, which is already very good.
More RAM… for the AI of future iPhones?
This is not a detail that Apple generally reveals to the general public, but disassembly of iPhones and observation in Apple’s development tools makes it possible to define the amount of RAM in iPhones. Thus, the iPhone 15 has 6 GB while the iPhone 15 Pro has reached 8 GB for the first time.
This year, the four iPhone 16s could carry 8 GB of RAM. The reason ? The integration of new resource-intensive generative AI functions. However, we still do not know whether Apple will have made enough progress on its own AI or whether it will need to integrate Gemini, Google’s new assistant.
On the storage side, the iPhone 16 would be equipped with QLC (Quad Level Cell) NAND memory. Compared to the TLC memory currently used, it is a slower memory, but offers a much higher storage capacity at the same price. This could therefore allow Apple to offer iPhone 16s with larger storage capacities without exploding its prices.
In photo, the tetraprism extends
According to various rumors, Apple intends to equip its iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max with a tetraprism zoom. Currently reserved for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, this lens provides a maximum optical magnification of x5, compared to only x3 on the 15 Pro.
In addition, the Pro models should align the quality of the ultra-wide-angle sensor with that of the wide-angle. Thus, both could capture images of 48 Mpx, with always the possibility of usingpixel binning.
How much will the iPhone 16 cost?
The price in euros is the main information expected during the presentation of the new iPhones. This is one of the most sensitive points to change depending on the country, taxes, and even the economic situation at the launch of the iPhone (and in particular the rate of the euro against the dollar).
It is therefore impossible to predict the price of the iPhone 16 in advance to the nearest euro, but variations from one year to the next are generally of the order of a hundred euros at most. As an example, here are the prices of the iPhone 15 at their launch.
- iPhone 15: from 969 euros;
- iPhone 15 Plus: from 1119 euros;
- iPhone 15 Pro: from 1229 euros;
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: from 1479 euros.
It is also possible that prices may change depending on the available storage capacity. In 2024, Apple, for example, removed the 128 GB version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, starting it at 256 GB. This may have an impact on the user’s bill.