Written by: Mingmei Wuxian

With the impending release of the iPhone 16 series, I'm sure you've seen plenty of rumors about the new devices. As the only player in the current smartphone market, iPhone upgrades have always attracted much attention. Based on the latest rumors and leaked information, I've summarized the possible major upgrades for the iPhone 16 series. Let's see if there are any anticipated upgrades this year.

First, after the release of the first developer preview of iOS 18, many netizens upgraded and experienced it firsthand.

After actual testing, iOS 18 has a very subtle change that reveals the design of the iPhone 16 series. The new system has an animation on the border when pressing physical buttons, including the volume buttons, action buttons, and power buttons, but this change is not present on iPadOS 18.

This corroborates previous rumors that the iPhone 16 series may eliminate physical buttons and adopt capacitive touch buttons, providing users with more feedback.

It is reported that to better simulate the feedback of volume and power buttons, the iPhone will also add a Taptic Engine motor inside the body.

This allows "solid buttons" to achieve extremely realistic physical button feedback, making users feel like they are pressing physical buttons.

Combined with the new animation effect, capacitive buttons can perfectly restore the feedback experience of physical buttons, making it difficult to tell the difference.

In addition, Apple has also introduced a shutdown function in the Control Center, meaning that shutdown can be achieved without pressing the power button, potentially paving the way for solid buttons.

Previously, it was rumored that the iPhone 15 Pro models would be equipped with solid buttons, but due to technical issues that could not be overcome before mass production, the iPhone 15 Pro series (Pro / Pro Max) canceled the highly anticipated solid button design and reverted to the original physical button design.

Mingmei Wuxian reported earlier that supply chain insiders hinted that the iPhone 16 Pro series might feature capacitive buttons. The iPhone 16 Pro will eliminate all physical buttons, while the existing button positions remain unchanged and still protrude, reducing border openings. The shutdown method remains the combination of the power button and volume buttons.

The iPhone 16 series is unlikely to eliminate all physical buttons entirely. A "major overhaul" is neither Apple's style nor logical for product development. It's necessary to consider user habits and acceptance, as well as the stability of regular product iterations.

In addition, eliminating physical buttons was actually the foundation of the rise of smartphones and the elimination of non-smartphones. Later, this trend spread to the automotive industry, leading to the "de-buttoning" of center consoles and the emergence of hidden door handles and electronic rearview mirrors. It's difficult to say that these have nothing to do with this intelligent logic.

Interestingly, the mobile phone industry has now stopped eliminating physical buttons and even started adding buttons, such as OnePlus' three-stage button and Xiaomi Ultra series' camera button. The automotive industry is also seeing this trend, as boxy car models are also reluctant to cut center console buttons, and discussions (reflections) on hidden door handles and electronic rearview mirrors have also begun.

Furthermore, as everyone knows, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are capable of recording spatial videos, allowing users to view content recorded by the iPhone 15 Pro series in 3D video format on Vision Pro.

This is because when holding the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max horizontally, their wide-angle main camera and ultra-wide-angle camera are on the same horizontal line, enabling spatial video recording.

In contrast, the cameras of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are diagonally designed and cannot record spatial videos.

On the iPhone 16 expected to be released in the second half of this year, Apple will change the camera position to a vertical dual-camera setup, allowing even the standard edition to record spatial videos.

Sources claim that this is the final design of the iPhone 16, with minor adjustments during mass production, but the vertical dual-camera design is certain.

Moreover, the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to include a periscope telephoto lens. By increasing the size, Apple allows the iPhone 16 Pro to have more internal space to accommodate the periscope telephoto lens.

It's worth mentioning that according to insiders, the battery design of the iPhone 16 has surfaced, revealing significant innovations in battery technology. This battery pack features a unique metal shell design, attracting widespread attention in the industry compared to traditional soft foil packaging.

It is reported that the iPhone 16's battery shell is made of metal material, maintaining the classic shape of the battery pack while achieving a higher battery capacity. Compared to the 3,597mAh battery capacity of the iPhone 15, the iPhone 16's battery capacity will be increased, although the specific value has not been disclosed. It is expected to provide users with a more enduring battery life experience.

In terms of product colors, the iPhone 16 Pro series basically continues the design style of previous generations. It is expected to offer colors such as black titanium, white titanium, desert titanium, gray titanium, and rose gold titanium, with a glossy titanium metal frame.

On the technical side, the iPhone 16 Pro will adopt a new generation of A18 Pro chip, expected to bring stronger processing power. Paired with a more advanced heat dissipation design, this model can support higher performance output. In addition, the new model is expected to support the latest Wi-Fi standard, improving network connection speed and stability.

More interestingly, the iPhone 16 Pro and Max are expected to be the largest iPhones ever. According to foreign media reports, these two models adopt larger schemes, equipped with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch screens, respectively, but the corresponding weight will also increase. This change not only optimizes the screen-to-body ratio but also enhances users' operational comfort in detail, providing users with a broader visual experience.

So Mingmei Wuxian summarizes the parameter information of the four models of the Apple iPhone 16 series.

It is reported that the iPhone 16 features a 6.1-inch 60Hz Super Retina display with a Dynamic Island design, equipped with an A18 chip, a 12MP front camera, a 48MP main camera + 12MP wide-angle camera on the rear, a built-in 3561mAh battery, supports 27W wired charging, and adopts an aluminum metal frame.

The iPhone 16 Plus features a 6.7-inch 60Hz Super Retina display with a Dynamic Island design, equipped with an A18 chip, a 12MP front camera, a 48MP main camera + 12MP wide-angle camera on the rear, a built-in 4006mAh battery, supports 27W wired charging, and adopts an aluminum metal frame.

The iPhone 16 Pro features a 6.3-inch 120Hz Super Retina display with a Dynamic Island design, equipped with an A18 Pro chip, a 12MP front camera, a 48MP main camera + 48MP wide-angle camera + 12MP telephoto lens on the rear, a built-in 3367mAh battery, supports 40W wired charging, and adopts a titanium metal frame.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 6.7-inch 120Hz Super Retina display with a Dynamic Island design, equipped with an A18 Pro chip, a 12MP front camera, a 48MP main camera + 48MP wide-angle camera + 12MP telephoto lens on the rear, a built-in 4676mAh battery, supports 40W wired charging, and adopts a titanium metal frame.

Then, the specific dimensions of the four models of the iPhone 16 series are as follows:

iPhone 16: Height 145.6399mm, Width 69.6285mm;

iPhone 16 Plus: Height 158.888mm, Width 75.756mm;

iPhone 16 Pro: Height 147.618mm, Width 69.45mm;

iPhone 16 Pro Max: Height 161.03mm, Width 75.57mm.

Among them, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the narrowest bezel, only 1.153mm, while the iPhone 16 Pro's bezel is 1.203mm, very close to the Pro Max version.

The bezels of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are 2.052mm and 2.062mm, respectively, and are relatively close. The Plus version has the widest bezel among the four models.

It's worth noting that the iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen has increased to 6.88 inches, slightly larger than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, making it the largest iPhone in Apple's history.

In addition, regarding timing, Apple Intelligence is not yet installed. According to Apple's plan, testing of the American English version will begin this summer, with a formal launch in the fall. In other words, the iPhone 16 is expected to come preinstalled with Apple Intelligence, and the iPhone 15 Pro series, as well as iPads and Macs equipped with M-series chips, may gradually support it.

However, this is limited to the American English version, and support for Chinese and other language versions will have to wait until next year. Currently, there is no more specific timeline. For Chinese users in China, Apple Intelligence is destined to be greatly discounted, including the freely available GPT-4o.

In terms of timing, Apple's launch speed is indeed slow, once again indicating Apple's hasty rollout. Even in speeches, Apple only repeatedly emphasized that Siri and Apple Intelligence will have more/better functions in the future, which seems somewhat empty.

Overall, I tend to believe that Apple may not have a clear roadmap for Apple Intelligence itself.

Finally, Mingmei Wuxian would like to mention that recently, Mingmei Wuxian learned from foreign media that LG Display obtained Apple's approval for mass production of the new iPhone 16 Pro Max OLED screen earlier than Samsung Display.

The report pointed out that the timing difference in approval is not solely based on technical reasons but may be a combination of multiple factors. Although the iPhone 16 series does not differ significantly in design from last year's iPhone 15 series, LG Display's early approval may be related to Apple's business partnership, supply chain strategy, or other unknown factors.

LG Display will produce OLED screens for the iPhone 16 Pro Max on its dedicated production line. Although its production capacity is limited and may not significantly increase output, the supply this year is expected to increase compared to last year's missed mass production opportunity. Last year, LG Display obtained approval later than Samsung Display for OLED screen production for the iPhone 15 series, leading to some orders being transferred to Samsung Display, affecting its performance.

Industry insiders believe that LG Display's early approval this time may help narrow the gap with Samsung Display in the iPhone OLED market. At the same time, it also provides an opportunity for LG Display to improve its performance.

It is expected that the iPhone 16 series will include two regular models (regular and Plus models) and two Pro-Max series, totaling four products. Samsung Display and LG Display will be responsible for supplying four OLED screens among them, while BOE is expected to provide OLED screens for the two regular production lines.

Well, if you have anything else to say about Apple's latest exposure of the iPhone 16, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section and join Mingmei Wuxian in the discussion!