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Tom's Guide
I’ve been following iPhone 16 rumors for a year — here’s the biggest upgrades for each model
By Philip Michaels,
2 days ago
Rumors about the next iPhone start nearly immediately after the latest iPhone gets released — and sometimes even earlier than that. So it's safe to say that as a writer who's livelihood depends a great deal on Apple's various comings and goings, I've had the iPhone 16 on the brain about the same time Tim Cook was triumphantly holding up the iPhone 15 at last year's launch event.
That's a lot of time for rumors to circulate with some reported features sticking around while others quickly fade from view. Remember how we were supposed to get an iPhone 16 Ultra this year? Well, that's unlikely to happen now, but maybe stick it on the rapidly growing pile of iPhone 17 rumors for us to kick around later this fall.
But what if we could narrow things down even further? I've selected the top rumor for each specific iPhone 16 model we're expecting to see next week — the standard iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max . If nothing else, you can impress your friends with your impeccable iPhone 16 insights prior to watching the Apple event live stream . And maybe even boiling down the iPhone 16 update to one specific rumor will help you decide whether to upgrade to one of the best new iPhones this fall.
iPhone 16
(Image credit: Weibo)
The big rumor: Look for the iPhone 16 to go button happy when it debuts on September 9. Not only is Apple's entry-level model supposed to adapt the Action button that appeared on the iPhone 15 Pro models a year ago, but it's tipped to get a new Capture button as well. (In fact, all four iPhones are set to get the Capture button.)
In case you've forgotten, the Action button replaces your iPhone's mute switch. You still use that button to silence incoming calls with a long press, but you can also head into the Settings button to assign a specific task to the Action button. That can be anything from launching an app to turning on the flashlight to performing a specific action within an app. Action button rumors expect the feature to work the same way on the iPhone 16 as it does on the iPhone 15 Pro.
The Capture button is a bit more mysterious. We expect that it will serve as a shortcut for launching the Camera aqp without having to first fiddle with the lock screen, and the button will likely double as a control for the camera's shutter, too. But additional speculation has centered around whether you'll be able to adjust the zoom and focus of your iPhone camera by swiping on the Capture button itself, instead of using on-screen controls.
One thing we do know, should both the Action and Capture buttons come to pass on the iPhone 16 — because iOS 18 lets you swap out lock screen controls for the flashlight and camera, you'll be free to select totally new controls while using the iPhone 16's button to manage those other tasks.
Why you should consider the iPhone 16: Apple's cheapest flagship phone is about to get the same basic control setup as its premium model, increasing the value of this particular device.
Why look elsewhere: More significant features than hand-me-down tools from last year's Pro phones are coming to other iPhone models.
iPhone 16 Plus
(Image credit: Future)
You could make the same case for the Action and Capture buttons coming to the Plus model as this phone's biggest addition, just like it is for the standard iPhone 16. But that would be pretty repetitive so instead I'm going to concentrate on another feature coming to both phones — a new Apple chipset.
The past two years, Apple has turned to the silicon used in the previous iPhone Pro editions to power the new standard and Plus models — a decision that kind of made those phones feel like afterthoughts. That's apparently not happening this year, as all four iPhone 16 models are supposed to feature an A18 system-on-chip .
Apple Intelligence could be the reason for Apple's apparent change of strategy. While the company is still reportedly going to equip the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max with a more powerful A18 Pro variant with a extra graphics core, the iPhone 16 Plus is on tap to get a standard A18 chip so that it can support new AI--powered Apple Intelligence features.
Why is this more significant for the iPhone 16 Plus than, say, the standard iPhone. Because the Plus offers the bigger screen of the two phones, giving you more space to use those image creation tools that are a big part of the Apple Intelligence feature set.
Why you should consider the iPhone 16 Plus: As always, the Plus model gives you a big-screen phone for less than the Pro Max edition. And this time, you won't have to compromise too much on power.
Why look elsewhere: The Plus and Pro Max used to have equal-sized screens. That may not be the case any more.
Specifically, the iPhone 16 Pro looks likely to pick up the tetraprism telephoto lens that Apple included with the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. It's a significant design change that allows the camera to support up to a 5x optical zoom, instead of the 3x zoom the iPhone 15 Pro currently offers. That means sharper images from a more capable camera.
That's not the only camera improvement tipped for the iPhone 16 Pro. Like the iPhone 16 Pro Max, this model is supposedly getting an upgraded 48MP ultrawide lens.
Why you should consider the iPhone 16 Pro: If those rumors pan out, the iPhone 16 Pro will be on equal footing with the cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, giving you a top camera phone for hundreds of dollars less.
Why look elsewhere: How much less remains to be seen, as one rumor predicts a $100 price hike for the iPhone 16 Pro over its predecessor.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
(Image credit: @ZONEofTECH on X )
Remember how we said that the iPhone 16 Plus may no longer share a screen size with the iPhone 16 Pro Max? That's because Apple's premium phone is tipped to come with the biggest display ever found on an iPhone.
Specifically, the iPhone 16 Pro Max looks like it's going to feature a 6.9-inch panel . (The iPhone 16 Pro's display should be larger, too, though rumors have that screen topping out at 6.3 inches.) Part of that extra size will come from seriously shrinking down the bezels, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max tipped to feature 1.15mm bezels compared to the 1.55mm edges around the current Pro Max display.
Yes, the improved ultrawide lens and A18 Pro chipset inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max are big deals in their own right. But no change looks to be bigger than the one to this phone's display.
Why you should consider the iPhone 16 Pro Max: The premium iPhone in Apple's lineup is going to see some significant changes that figure to result in a bigger, better model.
Why look elsewhere: The iPhone 16 Pro Max's cost figures to be big, too, even if Apple sticks to the $1,199 starting price.
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