The iPhone 15 might have only been available for a few months, but our attention is already turning to what Apple could be cooking up with the iPhone 16 and its larger iPhone 16 Plus sibling.
Rumours and leaks begin for the next iPhone as soon as the previous model is released and we’re already starting to see some possible changes for the 2024 update. We’ve also listed a few features we’d love to see arrive with the iPhone 16.
Release Date
There, of course, has been no confirmed release date for the iPhone 16 and nothing official will be confirmed until the device is announced during a live event in 2024.
We can, however, make some guesses about when the event and following launch will likely take place.
Apple typically sends out invitations for the iPhone launch event about two weeks before it takes place, and it is fairly easy to predict it’ll take place sometime in September – probably the second or third week.
The phone will then go up for pre-order the Friday after the event, with a full release happening the following Friday.
What do we know so far?
We’re still nearly a full year out from the launch of the iPhone 16, and while some early rumours are pointing towards new features it’s worth taking them all with a pinch of salt as a lot can change. For instance, earlier in 2023 it was suggested the iPhone 16 Pro would come with under-display Face ID and now that seems very unlikely.
According to information published by MacRumors, the iPhone 16 could have some interesting button and camera design changes. Mock-ups for the three devices said to be in testing show a phone with a vertically aligned camera module, not too dissimilar to the way it looked on the iPhone X.
Another one of the designs also has a new unified volume button instead of the current separate up and down buttons. The report claims this would have been a solid-state button that provided haptic feedback – but that the idea has been scrapped.
These models also show the Action Button and another button, dubbed the Capture button. Talk of this additional key has surfaced before, with the idea being it would sit where the mmWave antenna currently sits on US versions of the current iPhones.
What we want from the iPhone 16
ProMotion
Considering it has Pro in the name, it seems unlikely we’ll see the fast refresh rate ProMotion tech arrive on the standard iPhone models in its current form – but it feels odd Apple is still launching high-end phones with 60Hz panels in 2023, let alone 2024.
Current rumours point to the iPhone 16 retaining the same screen as the iPhone 14, yet a smoother, faster display remains one of our most requested features for the upcoming device.
Action Button
We were unconvinced by the Action Button when it first arrived on the iPhone 15 Pro. After a few weeks of use though, our feelings changed.
This customisable button is super handy for quickly opening the camera, toggling on and off the flashlight or performing any action from the Shortcut app and we’d love to see it arrive on all iPhone models next year.
Considering it was only a year between the Dynamic Island moving from the Pro series to the iPhone 15, it makes sense for the Action Button to be one of the big new additions in 2024.
A third rear camera
Apple has stuck staunchly to the rule that the standard iPhone models get two rear cameras and the Pro models get three – but we think it’s time for that to change.
With the telephoto camera on the Pro phones getting better, it feels like it’s time for the iPhone 16 to get at least a dedicated 2x lens to improve zooming.
It’s not like it’s unusual for the phones available at a similar price to pack a dedicated zoom camera, with the base Galaxy S flagship toting the feature.
