iPhone 16 Pro specs predictions: What we expect from Apple’s most powerful phones
Apple has confirmed that its next major product unveiling will take place on September 9. Dubbed “It’s Glowtime,” the event will almost certainly bring official news on the iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
We assume we’re not the only ones excited to see the official specs of Apple’s highest-end smartphones, as the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro Max were the two best-selling smartphones worldwide in 2023.
If, as we predicted, resource-intensive AI in the form of Apple Intelligence soon arrives on the iPhone, it will be critical for Apple to ensure that its very best iPhones have the power to handle these new features.
Of course, leaks and rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max spec sheets have been circulating for some time now, and below we’ve rounded up the most important predictions about Apple’s next powerful phones.
Incremental internal upgrades
We expect some changes in the chipset and storage capacity of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, but nothing as revolutionary as on the software side.
The new Pro iPhones will likely receive a new SoC “A18 Pro”, which offers a performance boost compared to the previous generation A17 Pro chip, especially when it comes to AI.
Accordingly GeekbenchThe iPhone 15 Pro saw an 11.4% increase in single-core CPU performance and a 7.5% increase in multi-core CPU performance compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, with similar changes in the Pro Max.
If this trend continues, we can expect a small but noticeable increase in performance with the supposed “A18 Pro” – we will of course test this ourselves as soon as we have the new iPhones in our hands.
As for the RAM, we don’t expect any changes from last year, and one leak even specifically paired with the A18 Pro with 8 GB RAMThis has Questions about the iPhone 16 Pro’s ability to handle AIalthough the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus with 8GB of RAM are said to be on par with the Pro models. However, it could be that Apple Intelligence is optimized for this amount of memory.
Storage could see a little more movement. We expect the same 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options, although a leaker with mixed results suggests a 2TB option will join the lineup.
It’s worth noting that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will likely continue to forgo the 128GB option that its smaller sibling launches with, and will instead come with at least 256GB.
Bigger screen, bigger battery
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will likely continue to have OLED panels with an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz (called “ProMotion” by Apple), but there are hints that the size of these panels could change.
In April, Leaker Sonny Dickson shared images via X (formerly Twitter) that appeared to show prototypes of the iPhone 16 lineup, with the Pro models both 0.2 inches larger than the previous generation.
That same amount – 0.2 inches – was hinted at by another leak in October 2023. Other leakers suggest that some of the increase could be due to reduced bezels, which MacRumors says could be the thinnest ever on a smartphone.
We expect Apple to fill this larger frame with a slightly larger battery, with the iPhone 16 Pro’s battery capacity increasing from 3,290mAh to 3,355mAh and the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s from 4,422mAh to 4,676mAh.
Camera upgrades
On the iPhone 16 Pro, this larger frame is also rumored to make room for a 5x telephoto lens borrowed from the Pro Max, an improvement over the current 3x lens.
Any possible parity depends on whether the iPhone 16 Pro Max meets the “Super-Tele‘ camera, hinted at by an old leak, which could finally allow Apple to challenge the 10x lenses used by Samsung and Huawei.
Other rumored camera upgrades for the iPhone 16 Pro include a larger sensor, an increase from 12MP to 48MP for the Ultra wide angle cameraa new Artifact-reducing lens coatingand a ‘stacked camera‘ design that could allow for the capture of much more light. The front camera probably won’t change, meaning sharper selfies would be the result of better software or AI.
These rumors come from various sources with varying track records. For a detailed breakdown, see our special iPhone 16 Pro cameras Page.
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