Apple iPhone 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max: Everything we know so far

While we are still months away from the launch of the iPhone 16 series, leaks and speculations are already rounding up, giving us a clear hint at what the next-generation Apple iPhones might look like. Just like in the past few years, the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are likely to end up being some of the best high-end smartphones, featuring premium design and cutting-edge hardware, and this time around, these devices are also anticipated to offer a host of generative features for the first time on an iPhone.

The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will also be the first set of iPhones to ship with iOS 18 with a lot of new AI features, which will be unveiled at the upcoming developers conference.

Here is everything we know so far about the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max:

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Big displays incoming

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15. (Image: Weibo) iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15. (Image: Weibo)

Apple is said to upgrade the display on both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max by a significant margin. Rumour has it that the iPhone 16 Pro will include a 6.3-inch screen, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max will include a 6.9-inch screen, the biggest screen Apple has ever shipped on an iPhone.

Just like the iPhone 15 Pro series, the iPhone 16 Pro lineup will offer ProRes with a 120Hz refresh rate, and these displays are said to offer higher peak brightness, protected by next-generation ceramic shield, which could come with Galaxy S24 Ultra-like anti-reflective coating.

Bigger displays also mean these devices will feel significantly larger than their predecessor and might also become heavier.

A bigger action button and a new capture button hinted

Apple replaced the mute switch with the Action Button with the launch of the iPhone 15 Pro, and the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro series will come with a bigger action button, and on top of that, leaked dummy images of the iPhone 16 Pro indicate that Apple will add another button to the iPhone, dubbed “capture button,” which will act like a dedicated camera shutter button, which is said to be available across the iPhone 16 lineup.

Almost identical design

iPhone 16 Pro series (Image credit: MacRumors) iPhone 16 Pro series (Image credit: MacRumors)

While Apple is debuting a vertical dual-camera setup on the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus, the camera Island on the iPhone 16 Pro series will look similar to the iPhone 15 Pro. Not just that, the iPhone 16 Pro series continues to offer a titanium chassis with slight curvature, and these devices will include a fast USB-C port with support for high-bandwidth data transfer.

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Coming to the finish, Apple is said to debut two new colour options for the iPhone 16 Pro series — space black and rose titanium, while the space black might match the shades of the new MacBook Air M3, and rose titanium will reintroduce the gold colour, just like the iPhone 14 Pro series.

It is also said that the finish on the iPhone 16 Pro chassis could mimic the iPhone 14 Pro’s mirror-like finish, which could easily attract smudges and fingerprints.

Improved cameras

While the triple-camera setup on the iPhone 16 Pro series might mimic their predecessor, the new models will have some significant hardware upgrades, especially the smaller iPhone 16 Pro, which, according to many leaks, will gain a tetraprism telephoto lens, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max might get an even bigger telephoto lens that’s equivalent to 300mm zoom. Some reports also hint that Apple might also debut 8K video recording on the iPhone 16 Pro for the very first time.

New A-series Processor

iPhone 16 Pro series with the new Capture button (Image credit: MacRumors) iPhone 16 Pro series with the new Capture button (Image credit: MacRumors)

The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are most likely to include the A18 Pro Bionic processor, possibly with up to 12 GB of RAM, and it is also said that Apple might finally offer a 256 GB storage option on the base model, which will go up to 1 TB. With the new chip, Apple is likely to include several generative AI experiences, especially on the iPhone 16 Pro series of devices.

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This could include on-device Siri intelligence, an enhanced note app, an improved gallery app with generative AI editing options, and cameras on these iPhones could also get some AI enhancement. Some of these AI features will be unveiled at the upcoming developers’ conference, happening on June 10.

Might come with a hefty price tag

The Pro lineup of iPhones has been costing $999 (for the base variant) ever since the launch of the iPhone X back in 2017, and Apple might hike the price by $100 or $200 in markets like the US, and we could also see a price hike in India.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro launch date

Apple is most likely to debut the iPhone 16 Pro series in early September, and the device will go on sale later that month.