Tag Archives: iPhone 16 Pro

The iPhone 16 might just be a snoozefest… History tells us why.

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Historically, every three years, the iPhone’s design gets a ‘boring’ upgrade. Do you remember the iPhone 8 or the iPhone 13’s most exciting features? Neither do I.

The iPhone X and 11 had radical new designs with the notch, the iPhone 12 introduced 5G and MagSafe… but after two consecutive years of exciting features, the iPhone 13 barely had anything worth talking about (unless you consider ‘Cinematic Mode’ to be a game-changing feature). Skip to the next year and the iPhone 14 Pro had the Dynamic Island and Satellite Connectivity. The iPhone 15 had the Action Button, the USB-C port, and a titanium construction. All indications show that the upcoming iPhone 16 won’t really dazzle much. Aside from a few hardware upgrades and perhaps one or two extra camera features (probably tied to the Vision Pro), there isn’t any thrilling rumor regarding the upcoming iPhone 16’s design. Not that there needs to be – Apple’s entitled to taking a short break every few years and just focusing on fine-tuning the product rather than wowing people. If you’re thinking of upgrading to the 16 this year, I’d probably give it a miss and go for the 15 instead. The iPad, on the other hand, is due for a BIG refresh with rumors of a glass-back, MagSafe, and perhaps some more camera upgrades to support the Vision Pro.

The rumor mill for the latest iPhone often begins around a year prior to its release. Once a model of the iPhone launches, analysts and experts begin speculating what the next year’s model could look like. Speculations turn into rumors by January. Rumors turn into leaks by April or May. And renders emerge online by July or August, approximately a month before Apple announces its newest iPhone. So far, the rumors have been rather underwhelming at best, with some minor upgrades being touted for the iPhone 16.

So far, outlets like MacRumors haven’t specified any ‘game-changing’ new features for the iPhone 16. Sure, you have a chipset upgrade every year and the 16 Pro will run Apple’s latest A18 Bionic chip. Cameras get upgraded too, and there’s speculation that the Ultrawide camera could get a 48MP bump this year. The new iPhone 16 series will apparently have larger displays (so maybe smaller bezels), better 5G, WiFi 7 capabilities, and a new stacked battery architecture for better battery life. Visibly, the iPhone 16 might have a different camera layout, defaulting to the original vertical orientation seen with the iPhone 11 and 12 (although the bump around them may be capsule-shaped instead of square like older models). There’s also speculation about a new physical ‘capture’ button for clicking photos or recording videos… although all indications show that this might just be one of those rumors that end up staying a rumor. Apple’s famously trying to move away from buttons and ports, so adding an extra button to the new phone just doesn’t sound like something the company would do. Moreover, the volume buttons already work as capture buttons when the camera app’s active… so a dedicated capture button feels rather redundant.

The iPhone 16 Pro might see some extremely small incremental changes, with barely any visible differences. The rendering below shows a possible iPhone 16 Pro with a design that’s indistinguishable from last year’s 15 Pro model. Apple will almost certainly stick to titanium for the Pro series, potentially with newer colors to help differentiate them from last year’s models.

All eyes, however, are on Apple’s software development team this year. The company famously canceled its rumored Apple Car project, moving the entire Project Titan team to work for the in-house AI development department. Analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo speculate that Apple might announce AI-based features like a next-gen Siri powered by Apple’s own LLM, or other generative AI capabilities. These announcements, however, may just come with the iOS 18 debut during WWDC in June. To push the latest iPhone series, Apple may also limit these AI features only to the iPhone 16 range, forcing consumers to make the upgrade. However, until these speculations are confirmed, the iPhone 16 may just be worth a miss this year.

Images via MacRumors

The post The iPhone 16 might just be a snoozefest… History tells us why. first appeared on Yanko Design.

iPhone 16 Pro punch-hole camera cutout is still possible but 2025 is more likely

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Ever since the iPhone X in 2017, Apple has stayed faithful to the notch despite numerous criticisms. Last year, however, it finally changed direction for the first time while still staying away from the dominant “punch-hole camera” design of most smartphones today. The Dynamic Island, which is unsurprisingly now being copied by other brands, presented a unique and interesting way to hide the presence of front sensors like the Face ID camera while still making that area usable and, well, dynamic. There are, however, whispers that Apple will soon go all-in on the prevalent design trend and will implement its first punch-hole design on the iPhone 16 Pro next year, though chances of that happening in 2025 might be a bit more realistic.

Designer: Apple (via Majin Bu)

Although the smartphone industry seems to have settled on what is described as punch-hole or hole-punch cutouts, the debates have never really stopped on what is the better design. The old iPhone notch, in addition to being seen as stale, also took up too much precious screen real estate that could otherwise be used to display things. The smaller circle does minimize the footprint but still leaves a lot of room for improvement in terms of elegance and functionality. The Dynamic Island introduced last year is Apple’s creative and ingenious solution to combine the best of both worlds, but it seems that even design-conscious isn’t done changing things.

According to rumors, Apple is already testing a punch-hole design that could make its way as early as next year’s iPhone 16 Pro. The insider tip even shows a render with a rather large hole at the top of an iPhone’s display. The cutout is noticeably larger than most punch-holes on Android phones that have been trying to make that design less conspicuous. There’s a good reason for that, which is the same reason Apple couldn’t completely abandon the notch and why it created the Dynamic Island design. Face ID hardware is more than just a simple front-facing camera, and Apple will need to make room for those sensors in such a constrained space.

Even if Apple does change to a punch-hole camera design, expect it to be unlike what you see on Android phones so far. We could see a redesigned Dynamic Island implemented for this kind of cutout that takes advantage of the smaller space. Or we could see Apple completely revise iOS 18 to have a different interface now that there’s more room for icons and whatnot up there.

That said, even the tipster admits that there is a bigger chance that this design change will happen with the iPhone 17 series in 2025 instead. All that depends on what the company decides in March next year when it finally decides on the iPhone 16 design. Truth be told, there is very little reason for Apple to make another change so soon, with Dynamic Island still in its infancy. After all, Apple isn’t one to simply jump on trends, so it might be a while before we see it changing its direction again.

The post iPhone 16 Pro punch-hole camera cutout is still possible but 2025 is more likely first appeared on Yanko Design.

iPhone 16 Pro renders surface online with staggered 4-lens camera system

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Even though we’re still 4 months away from the iPhone 15 being announced, the tech rumor mill is hard at work trying to decipher what future iPhone models will look like… and can you blame them? 8 out of 10 of the best-selling phones of 2022 were iPhones! While we’ve pretty much got some solid intel on what the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will look like, designer Ivano Frankivsk put together a concept for what the 16 Pro model should look like. Marking a major deviation from the 13 Pro and 14 Pro models, this concept features a 4-lens camera system, and a double camera bump that’s staggered for some visual dynamism (as well as to make place for the Periscope Lens). The phone looks unapologetically Apple-like… but the staggered camera bump feels visually refreshing. It also makes enough space for a flash and a LiDAR sensor, allowing the iPhone 16 Pro to have perhaps the most advanced camera system we’ve ever seen on a smartphone!

Designer: Ivano Frankivsk (@vovalenard)

Details on the 16 Pro at this moment are scarce, but as far as we know, the iPhone is definitely going to get a USB-C model this year, given strict EU regulations that kick in in 2024. Since Apple’s phones sell for roughly 2 years before being discontinued, it makes sense for the company to make their USB-C model now, so that it doesn’t need to be pulled off the shelves next year in one of Apple’s biggest global markets. Suffice it to say, the 16 Pro will still have a USB-C, although Apple seems to really be gunning for a port-less iPhone in the somewhat distant future. It’s rumored that they even tried solid-state capacitive buttons, before reverting back to physical click buttons for the 15 Pro.

Frankivsk’s iPhone 16 Pro concept showcases a rather unique-looking camera bump, although to keen eyed enthusiasts, it’s just two iPhone X camera units placed one beside the other. This staggered design gives the phone enough space for each lens and sensor array, especially allowing Apple to cram a larger 48MP sensor into the cameras as well as that rumored Periscope Lens, which will be capable of impressive levels of optical zoom.

As far as the front goes, it still looks like the Dynamic Island will play a significant role in defining the front of the iPhone. Debuted just last year, the Dynamic Island was considered a welcome change after 6 full years of having a notch in the upper part of the bezel. It doesn’t look like under-screen cameras or fingerprint readers will be coming any time soon, although Samsung did reveal their latest Sensor OLED display on Monday, with the ability to read heart rate and blood pressure right through the screen’s touch interface.

The iPhone 16 Pro won’t arrive before September of next year, but credible leaks in the early days of 2024 will help us understand what the new phone will really look like.

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