Updated on August 15th with more feature reports from several different sources.
When the iPhone 16 series arrives – and read on for exactly when it looks like that will happen – it will have new colors, new features and Apple Intelligence. Now, an industry heavyweight has leaked what might be coming and whether it’s worth having.
The iPhone 15 shown here is set to be replaced by the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple Intelligence is certainly the feature the company is pushing so far, but it may not be enough on its own to entice people to upgrade, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On Newsletter.
“It’s hard to say how tempting that will be,” he says. He also goes on to comment on all the planned changes, more of which below: “If you have an older iPhone, these are all nice upgrades — but you probably shouldn’t have them. I don’t expect the new models to fuel a gold rush for Apple. And, if the latest financial guidance is any indication, neither does the company. He declined to give a forecast for iPhone growth in the current quarter. If Apple was expecting a major hit, we probably would have gotten a clue.”
I’m not sure I agree with that, though I notice that Gourmand is careful to use the word probably.
He also says there will be a new camera control button on the right edge of the new iPhone, though he’s not sure if it’s limited to just the Pro models. Other sources, such as Guide to Volwe suggest that all four iPhone 16 models will have this button, designed to help with photography and video.
There have been rumors of what is believed to be called a Capture Button. “It will work like a button on a DSLR camera, allowing you to press lightly to activate autofocus,” says Gurman.
This corresponds to other reports. MacRumorsfor example, comments that you will also be able to swipe left and right on the button to zoom in and out. Additionally, “There may also be a gesture to switch between photo mode and video mode, similar to how you can take a video with a tap and swipe in the iPhone camera app.”
The button, it’s said, will be a capacitive touchpad rather than a mechanical button, a bit like the Touch ID button on previous iPhones and even the iPhone SE. The half-press to focus that Gurman mentions is a key feature on DSLR cameras, allowing for a faithful preview of what the final image will look like, although the iPhone usually displays accurate previews on the screen. However, this is likely to be a decent step.
Placing the download button means that the mmWave antenna switches to the other side of the iPhone, in countries like the US where the iPhone is mmWave capable. The placement of the button also encourages users to take photos in landscape orientation.
And while you can currently turn the iPhone on its side and activate the shutter by pressing one of the volume buttons, that means turning the phone to the right, which is counterintuitive for many users. Now, there’s a physical button available whichever way you turn the phone.
Apple will add the Action Button to all versions of the iPhone 16 series, instead of the more expensive Pro models currently, Gurman claims.
He continues, “the big marketing point will be Apple Intelligence, the company’s new suite of AI capabilities. All iPhone 16 models will run Apple Intelligence, but it will also work with the iPhone 15 Pro versions. It’s hard to say how tempting that will be.” His initial reaction to this is that Apple Intelligence alone is not a reason to upgrade. Well, we’ll see.
Likewise, the display screens will increase in size, although it is not clear if this will only be for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Gurman also expects new colors: for example, the titanium blue shade on the iPhone 15 Pro will drop, while Apple will introduce a new rose gold option.
All iPhones released this fall will have versions of the A18 processor and 8GB of RAM, which are required for Apple Intelligence, he says.
In his newsletter he suggests that the iPhone hasn’t changed that much since the iPhone 12 came out in 2020. Having used everything since then, I’d disagree—my experience using the iPhone has changed in the last four years with many ways — but he goes on to say that 2025 will be a key year for Apple, with a new iPhone SE and an ultra-slim iPhone 17 in the fall.
While these features sound great, I think there are enough features, changes and upgrades in what has been leaked for this year’s 2024 iPhones to already look pretty special, assuming the rumors are correct. Not long until we know everything.
