Apple iPhone 16: Design Changes, Launch Date And What To Expect
The Apple iPhone 16 series is just around the corner with certain aspects and features of the phone quite heavily leaked in some of our previous coverage. Overall, the phones will see marginal improvements over the current generation, such as:
- Potentially larger displays on the Pro models. Some have claimed that the Pro Max will grow by 0.2 inches to 6.9 inches, while the standard Pro will grow by the same margin to 6.3 inches.
- Pro models could be gaining a dedicated camera (capacitive) button that users can half-press to focus, then fully depress to snap a photo. Apparently the button also will serve as a zoom button either in video or photo mode.
- The "Action" button from the iPhone 15 Pros will trickle down to the standard and Plus iPhone 16. Action button can be customized to operative dozens of quick functions, such as to mute the phone, launch the flashlight, or start the camera.
- Probably the biggest drop will be Apple's first big mobile push into AI, cheekily named Apple Intelligence. Every new iPhone 16 will have the capability (with the iPhone 15 Pros likely being grandfathered in), although it remains to be seen how it will change how iPhone users interact with their devices, and more importantly, how well-received Apple Intelligence will be.
- All iPhone 16s will no doubt rock Cupertino's latest A18 silicon paired with 8 GB of RAM. No doubt, the hardware will be needed for Apple Intelligence, but early Geekbench scores have shown crazy improvements in graphical scores (up to 35 percent higher than the A17), which bodes well for media editing and gaming.
Which leads us to the release date of the phones. Recent releases (six out of ten, to be exact) have centered around the first-half of September, normally on a Tuesday, which leaves us with September 3 or September 10.
However, there are caveats to both dates. September 3 follows the Labor Day weekend, so launching then might be a challenge, Likewise, September 10 is the final day of IFA Berlin, one of the largest consumer electronics shows, which—if Apple decides to launch then—could mean reduced coverage, which isn't ideal.
Apple has been somewhat flexible with its dates before, a la the iPhone 4s in October 2011 or COVID, so it's possible Apple could push things out to ensure optimum coverage.
