Keeping with long-held tradition, Apple will unveil its new iPhone 16 lineup at a keynote on September 9, 2024. As with all post-pandemic events, this too is expected to be a pre-recorded keynote that will stream from Apple Park in Cupertino, with the company unveiling its latest hardware advancements for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple sent out invites to the press on August 26, featuring a glowing Apple logo encased in what appears to be Siri’s new UI with iOS 18.
As with all Apple events, this invite too appears to hide some subtle messages about the nature of the company’s announcements. For one, the tagline “It’s Glowtime” references the colourful glowing Siri interface, a key part of the company’s artificial intelligence tools dubbed Apple Intelligence (let’s just call it AI for convenience). It is widely rumoured that the entire iPhone 16 lineup will get Apple Intelligence after Apple surprisingly dropped support for the features on last year’s iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. Furthermore, the colourful invite hints at a rather bronze colour, following rumours that the colourway will be a new addition to the Pro lineup. Hopefully, it could also hint that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will get some colours this year, after last year’s controversial designs that were more white than colour.
But colours aside, what will Apple give us with the iPhone 16 lineup? As always, the rumours have been far and few in between, but here’s what we know so far. One big thing to note – the keynote falls on a Monday, while Apple has traditionally held its events on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The last time we had a Monday launch was way back in 2010 when Apple unveiled the iPhone 4. So this could be an indicator of a major shakeup in 2024.
iPhone 16 Hardware
For one, the entire lineup will be getting Apple Intelligence, so that means we can expect the entire lineup to feature some powerful processors. Last year, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus were launched with the A16 chip and 6GB of RAM. While that’s nothing to sneeze at, it appears the processors were too underpowered for AI. So it’s likely the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will come with the A17 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM. The Pro models meanwhile, are expected to feature the new A18 chip built on the latest N3E 3-nanometer node. RAM is expected to be capped at 8GB, with rumours indicating that Apple will bump up the RAM to 12GB in 2025.
In terms of display, nothing new is expected for the base models. But rumours indicate Apple may bump up the size of the Pro displays ever so slightly, as it continues to shrink the bezels on its devices. For the cameras, rumour has it that the Pro models are getting some big upgrades. Apple may pack a 48MP ultra-wide lens and a 5x telephoto lens into both Pro devices. To further differentiate the top-of-the-line Pro Max, Apple could add a “super telephoto periscope camera”, designed to appeal to sports and wildlife photographers. This one sounds a little too good to be true, but given Apple’s upgrade to a periscope telephoto camera system on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it does sound possible. Perhaps the engineers at Cupertino have made it a reality.
One thing the iPhone is not known for is its battery, but that may also be upgraded this year. Apple may introduce a stacked battery technology, prolonging the lifespan of the component while increasing energy density. To further enhance this, Apple may add 40W wired charging, and 20W MagSafe charging as well. That’s a neat upgrade from the 15W Apple currently limits MagSafe to, and the 20W limit of wired charging.
iPhone 16 Design
To stand out from its older models, Apple could redesign the camera module on the iPhone 16 lineup. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will reportedly have a vertical camera layout, which may also aid in recording Spatial Video for consumption on the Apple Vision Pro. So far, we don’t know how Apple will handle the third lens on the Pro models, but they may not be changed with Apple instead using colours to differentiate from last year’s models.
Speaking of colours, leaks from the supply chain indicate that bright bold colours are making a big comeback. The Pro models are likely to keep more sober colour ways, with black, white, grey/silver, and a new bronze colour with a glossy finish over last year’s brushed-metal finish. The entry-level devices meanwhile will have black, white, green, blue, and pink finishes with rich and bold colours. After years of slow desaturation, these bold finishes are a welcome return to form for the company that became famous for giving us candy-coloured home computers.
Another expected upgrade is the Action Button that debuted on the iPhone 15 Pro models. Apple will reportedly bring the button to the entire iPhone lineup this year, eliminating its trusty Mute/Ringer switch for good. The Pro models meanwhile, are expected to get a new Capture Button, designed to make photography quicker. Some rumours indicate that this button may also come to all four models, but given how Apple handled the Action Button, the Capture Button may get a similar treatment.
Other Rumors
Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the new iPhone lineup may come with faster Wi-Fi 7 technology, providing speeds up to 30 gigabits per second. Also, expect subtle changes to 5G connectivity and perhaps a slimmer MagSafe design that reduces the overall space occupied by the magnets. It is unclear if this change will be backwards compatible, but one would assume it should be.
Apple Watch X
Alongside new iPhones, Apple will also unveil the Apple Watch Series 10 (or X if the company decides to go with the branding adopted for the iPhone). Unlike the iPhone X, the new Watches aren’t expected to be monumental changes, but will definitely feature some big changes to stand out from their predecessors. For one, Apple is expected to make the device noticeably thinner and leaner, partially achieved by a new magnetic system to attach bands.
At this point, it is unclear if this new system will be backwards compatible, a key concern as many Watch users have built up collections of bands (including your’s truly) over the years. Rumours have been mixed on this, so we will just have to wait and see. We could also see slightly larger screen sizes as a result of this change, the device will come in 45mm and 49mm as opposed to the 41mm and 45mm currently available. It’s unclear if these changes will also come to the Apple Watch Ultra, but it does sound likely.
Beyond that, WatchOS 11 has given us some interesting clues as to what to expect in terms of hardware and features. The new Watch is clearly going to need a much more powerful processor to take advantage of features such as Training Load, Vitals, and the new Photo Pace. The new vitals app may benefit from advanced health sensors including blood pressure and blood sugar. Apple has long been rumoured to be working on bringing both those features to the Watch, and the 10th anniversary would be an ideal time to launch one, if not both. Of course, that is if regulators allow Apple to do so, but so far the company does not seem to have had too much trouble on that front.
How To Watch
While the Watch could be set for a massive upgrade after a few years of iterative models, the iPhone 16 lineup seems to be just the opposite. Nonetheless, the keynote is going to be fun to watch, as Apple’s virtual events have always included some exciting camera work and fun cameos.
You can catch the keynote on Apple’s website, the Apple TV app, or the company’s YouTube channel at 9:00 AM PT/6:00 PM GMT.