iPhone 16: Expected Features And Updates For 2024 Models

Another year, and another September beckons, which can mean only one thing — a new iPhone is on the horizon. Usually, September is often the beginning of an avalanche of launches, but this year, it could be one of the last major launch events of the year since Samsung released its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models in mid-July and Google recently launched the Pixel 9 models earlier this week, far earlier than its usual October launch window.

A lot is expected from Apple's latest iPhones because, in all honesty, the last couple of years have been quite pedantic and boring. The iPhone, despite this, has remained the best-selling individual model and largely been the best phone overall, but one always expects that little bit more. And this year, for sure, some fireworks are expected.

For starters, all indications are that Apple's event will happen on 10 September. That day just works because Apple traditionally hosts its iPhone event in the first two weeks of September, and it is always on a Tuesday. Guess what's a Tuesday — 10 September. On top of this, there have been numerous leaks on X which indicated the event will be on the 10th. In fact, there is an image of the purported Apple event which is doing the rounds — which hints at a bronze colour also debuting.

Apple traditionally announces the event two weeks before the event, so perhaps by 27 or 28 August one should expect the launch to be announced. Ironically, on 28 August, Apple is launching the Beats brand in India officially, which could also mean there could be some new Beats products coming to the country.

But yes, the focus is, of course, on the iPhone — the iPhone 16 models — there will be four models — iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple is expected to increase the sizes of the screens of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays. Since the iPhone 12 models, Apple has used the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen sizes for the Pro models, but this year, Apple is expected to bump up the iPhone 16 Pro size to 6.3 inches and the iPhone 16 Pro Max to 6.9 inches — this will make the Pro Max the largest iPhone to date. That being said, the overall footprint of the iPhone is not expected to go up as Apple could leverage Border Reduction Structure Technology to shrink the bezel, which will give a borderless display vibe. Apple is expected to be using micro lens technology, which will make these screens more power-efficient.

The Dynamic Island, which was first introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, is also expected to be shrunk, and there will be a new camera system on the front which could make the Face ID system more efficient and also reduce the size of the pill-shaped island.

Aside from this, Samsung's M14 organic OLED panels will enable the screens to be brighter and provide better longevity for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models.

There will be a new colour for all the models which has been revealed by serial Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo. A bronze-like rose colour has been hinted at, which has also been revealed by one of the leaked images. A new type of matte black finish is also expected with the new iPhone 16 Pro line.

Since generative AI is the talk of the town with Apple having announced Apple Intelligence, its take on genAI at WWDC, these new phones are expected to be primed for on-device AI processing. While the current A17 Pro chipset is capable of handling these tasks, Apple is expected to have an even more capable chipset this year called the A18 Pro, which will have an updated neural engine and GPU. Apple will likely also have an updated CPU architecture. Apple will also have 8GB RAM across all iPhone models because to run Apple Intelligence, Apple needs that amount of base RAM — which is something that's absent in the base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, because of which those models will not support Apple Intelligence even when it launches officially late this year.

These chipsets are going to use TSMC's latest N3E manufacturing process, which Apple has already started to use for the M4 chipset on the new iPad Pro and the M3, M3 Pro and Max processors which are on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This new manufacturing process will be cheaper for Apple, which could help make the iPhones be more profitable and also more power-efficient.

Actually, these iPhones could have a dramatic increase in battery efficiency. Particularly, a bigger battery is expected to have a 4,676mAh battery up from the current 4,422mAh battery.

The camera is a big part of the iPhone — it is the most popular point-and-shoot camera in the world, and the pro models represent the apex of Apple's camera technology.

On the smaller iPhone 16 Pro, Apple is expected to bring the 5x tetraprism lens which debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. But overall, the telephoto lenses on both phones should benefit from improved processing, and they should have radically better low-light performance and perhaps even a lower aperture. There are reports which even suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could have a brand new telephoto system altogether which may add a super zoom feature that could enhance the focal length.

The ultra-wide camera on the new phones is also expected to be updated to a new 48-megapixel resolution up from the 12-megapixel resolution that Apple currently uses. This means greater detail in landscape shots and perhaps an improved macro photography mode since Apple uses the ultra-wide lens for the macro mode.

For the main camera, while Apple will retain the 48-megapixel resolution, it will be using a bigger and brighter Sony sensor. Apple could be using the IMX 903 sensor from Sony, which will have a 1/1.12-inch size up from the 1/1.28-inch size, allowing for 1.4 µm sub-pixels and stacked transistor layout much like Sony's Lytia camera sensors which have been used on phones by Xiaomi, Vivo and OnePlus — but this sensor will likely be an iPhone exclusive, as is often the case. This sensor also involves a 14-bit DAC and DCG to reduce noise.

Apple could be working on high-quality slow-motion video but with a very high resolution of 3K at 120 fps supporting Dolby Vision. Other things could involve a new lens coating called atomic layer deposition, which could help reduce the lens flare issue that plagues the iPhone.

Apple will be updating the action button to capture button. This button is expected to be pressure-sensitive and will have a different position so that it is in line with the right hand's index finger, with the pressure sensitivity enabling a half-press to lock focus and then a stronger press to take the shot.

Apple could also introduce JPEG-XL image format, which will sit between the HEIC and JPEG formats.

There is also going to be a new Snapdragon X75 modem which will surely improve connectivity for the iPhones. It could also enable Wi-Fi 7, future-proofing the Wi-Fi capabilities of the phone.

Apple also is going to be making these phones in India, and they may be slightly cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus

In a way, bigger updates are expected for the standard iPhone 16 models — iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

Apple will revert back to the vertically aligned setup for the dual camera system to enable spatial video for the Apple Vision Pro. This will also be the biggest design change for the phones which will distinguish them from the iPhone 15, 14, 13 models. These phones will get new colours — in all likelihood — Pink, Blue, Yellow, Green, Black and there could be also purple and white options.

While the screen size of these phones will be 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, these models will get a smaller Dynamic Island. These phones will also get smaller bezels and better battery efficiency via micro lens technology.

Instead of the A17 Pro being used, the A18 chip will debut, which will likely be more powerful than the A17 Pro and will also enable on-device generative AI as it will support Apple Intelligence. It could have a larger die area with a 6-core GPU and support 8GB RAM. It will also have TSMC's N3E manufacturing process, which will have big battery life advantages while making the phones cheaper to make.

Apple will likely enable Wi-Fi 6E, offering up to 6GHz of speeds.

As far as storage options go, these phones will be 128GB, 256GB and 512GB of storage, and Apple will use QLC NAND SSD technology. A 1TB variant is unlikely as that will remain exclusive to the iPhone Pro models.

While the cameras will remain largely the same from a hardware perspective, the ultra-wide camera could get a faster f/2.2 aperture. Apple is also expected to add macro photography to the non-pro iPhones this year.

Like the Pro models, the standard iPhone models could also get the pressure-sensitive capture button, which will be a feature that will be loved by photography enthusiasts.

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max along with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to be launched in India on the same day as the iPhones in the US, which could be as soon as 13 September. This is because now all iPhone models are being manufactured in India, and these phones could have a slightly lower starting price than their predecessors.