Updated October 28
• iPhone 16's flagship feature, Apple Intelligence, is now available — here are the first 5 features you should try
• iPhone 16s are now on sale, so be sure to read our iPhone 16 review, iPhone 16 Plus review, iPhone 16 Pro review and iPhone 16 Pro Max review for the lowdown on each phone
• Apple has revealed the entire iPhone 16 series, and there's no sign of an iPhone 16 Ultra
The brand new iPhone 16 models are now here, and as expected we didn't see those four phones joined by an iPhone 16 Ultra.
That's disappointing if you've been following the rumblings about an iPhone 16 Ultra that suggested a super-premium iPhone has been in the works. But every iPhone 16 rumor of more recent vintage suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro Max, not the Ultra, would be a part of the lineup like always.
You can understand why people think the iPhone's future eventually means an Ultra model is coming to the lineup, even if it won't be the iPhone 16 Ultra. We already have the Apple Watch Ultra, plus some Ultra-branded Mac chips, as precedent for Apple making ultra products. The only question now is how to make the Ultra stand out from the existing Pro or Pro Max models, whether it's with unique features like advanced cameras or a different external design.
It's a question Apple's not going to answer this year. Nevertheless, here's what we had heard about the iPhone 16 Ultra until it became apparent that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will remain part of Apple's lineup this year. We'll also look at what this means for the iPhone 17 lineup in 2025.
iPhone Ultra — what about the iPhone 17?
With the iPhone 16 Ultra not happening, it's time to look ahead to 2025 and the prospects of an Ultra model showing up then. iPhone 17 rumors have already started to trickle out, and there's a very strong possibility of a new premium phone joining Apple's offerings. However, it may no longer have the Ultra name.
Instead, the phone we've been hearing about for 2025 is the iPhone 17 Slim. Like the Ultra, this would be a premium model with its distinguishing feature being how Slim it is. The iPhone 15 is 7.8mm thin, but the iPhone 17 Slim is tipped to be even thinner than that.
Other Slim rumors suggest that the phone would have a 6.6-inch display and possibly just a single 48MP rear camera, with the idea of keeping the phone as slim as possible. The Slim would be the highest-priced of Apple's iPhone 17 models, inheriting that from the rumored Ultra.
Otherwise, details are pretty sparse right now, but it's worth keeping an eye on whether Apple rumors shift from an Ultra model to a Slim one.
iPhone 16 Ultra: release date speculation
Talk of an Ultra model for the iPhone lineup dates back to 2022 when Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicted that such a phone would follow the Apple Watch Ultra "in the next couple of years." That didn't turn out to be 2023 despite a number of rumor mongers claiming Apple would redub its Pro Max phone as the iPhone 15 Ultra.
For his part, Gurman was not among the people expecting an Ultra model at that time. Instead, in February 2023, Gurman reported that Apple was "working towards an even higher-end Ultra model for as early as 2024 in addition to adding more exclusive features to the Pro Max."
Since Apple's fall 2023 iPhone launch came and went without any sign of an Ultra model, the next earliest date that an Ultra would appear is in the coming months.
As the event drew closer, all signs pointed to the Ultra not existing as part of the iPhone 16 lineup. Samsung Securities — the financial services arm of Samsung — had a road map of potential Apple product releases. There was no mention of an iPhone Ultra under the 2024 heading.
Now that Apple's fall event is firmly behind us, and the iPhone 16 has been releases into the world, it's clear that the Ultra model was never meant to be. Not this year, anyway.
iPhone 16 Ultra: possible price
If the iPhone 16 Ultra is dead in the water, then there's no way of knowing how much such a phone might cost. The iPhone 15 Pro Max saw a price increase by $100 to $1,199, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max sticking with that price tag. That would seem to set a floor for the iPhone Ultra price, especially if the Ultra were to one day replace the Pro Max as Apple's top-of-the-line phone.
For what's it worth, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799, which is $400 more than the Apple Watch Series 9. If Apple were to apply that same pricing strategy to its phone lineup, an Ultra model would come in at $1,399, as that's $400 than the iPhone 16 Pro's $999 starting price. That wouldn't make the iPhone 16 Ultra the most expensive smartphone out there — both Samsung and Google charge $1,799 for their foldable phones — but it would price the Ultra outside of most shoppers' budgets. We're pretty sure that would be a non-starter.
For now, we'd just assume that the iPhone Ultra would cost around the same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max and adjust our expectations once pricing rumors emerge.
iPhone 16 Ultra: design and display
The biggest iPhone 16 Ultra rumor was that Apple would grow the display from 6.7 inches from the iPhone 15 Pro Max to 6.9 inches for the new flagship. This would be the biggest screen ever on an iPhone. Despite the lack of an Ultra, this happened anyway, with the iPhone 16 Pro models are getting larger screens — with the Pro Max growing to 6.9 inches.
As for the iPhone 16 Ultra display, a rumor leading up to the iPhone 15 launch had suggested Apple might use newer Samsung panels that offered more brightness. As it turns out, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's peak brightness remained at the same 2,000 nit maximum outdoors as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But it's likely the iPhone Ultra would have turned to a brighter panel, especially now that Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL offers the brightest display we've ever tested.
Reports from Apple's supply chain tipped the iPhone 16 models to feature a more power-efficient display. Samsung, which traditionally provides Apple with panels for its phones, was said to be switching from blue fluorescent technology to blue phosphorescence technology, which allows the screens to consume less power.
Another iPhone 15 Pro rumor could also find its way to the iPhone Ultra design: Solid State Buttons. Some had expected Apple's new phones to feature solid-state buttons. Instead of moving like the current volume buttons do, these buttons would instead use haptic feedback to indicate a press. The advantage of solid-state buttons is that it reduces the number of moving parts that can break down over time.
While the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro models offers haptic feedback, Apple reportedly ran into technical problems trying to implement solid-state buttons for mass production. Rumors claimed that the iPhone 16 series would feature solid state power and volume buttons, alongside a Camera Control button, but in the end Apple only included the latter.
Rumors of a buttonless iPhone have circulated for years. If it's ever going to come to pass, it would seemingly involve an Ultra version of the iPhone.
iPhone 16 Ultra: cameras
The big move on the camera front for the iPhone 15 was the tetraprism telephoto lens adopted by the iPhone 15 Pro Max that allowed it to increase its optical zoom to 5x. (The more conventional telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro still offers a 3x zoom.)
With iPhone 16 bringing that upgrade all iPhone 16 Pro models, you'd expect the iPhone Ultra to also use that approach, although maybe with a more powerful zoom to challenge the 10x optical zoom that Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra features.
Additionally, Apple may be switching to a different type of telephoto lens for future iPhones that come equipped with that type of camera. The new lens is thinner and offers improved magnification, according to reports.
While we would expect spatial video capture with the iPhone 16 Ultra, it looks as though it may no longer be exclusive to the top-of-the-line models, as Apple brought the feature to its entry level iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. All thanks to their new vertical camera arrangement.
iPhone 16 Ultra: chipset and battery
Logic would dictate that the iPhone 16 Ultra would use whatever top-of-the-line chipset Apple is developing for its next high-end phones. This year that was the A18 Pro, which proved to be power powerful and more energy efficient than its predecessors.
If the iPhone Ultra arrives in 2025, we could see it come packing a 2nm chip — that's apparently an iPhone 17 upgrade — but the 3nm process used by the A18 Pro is still very potent and should mean excellent performance for the alleged Ultra model.
Apple never confirms the amount of memory it includes, but it made an exception with the iPhone 16 series thanks to Apple Intelligence. Since the AI suite currently needs at least 8GB of RAM, we'd expect that to be the minimum amount coming to any future Ultra models. Though there's always the potential for more.
Apple had been rumored to be working on its own modem for future iPhones, and while that work may be continuing, Qualcomm announced back in September that it would supply Apple with modems through 2026. If the iPhone Ultra ever make a surprise arrival this year, it's likely to feature a Qualcomm-supplied modem. But things may change, since it's now claimed the Apple modem will make its debut in the iPhone SE 4.
iPhone 16 Ultra: Software
Any iPhone released in the fall is going to feature that year's version of iOS. This year that was iOS 18, which has now arrived, following a debut at WWDC 2024.
As well as the Apple Intelligence features that apply to all Apple's main product lines, iOS 18 introduces a revamped Photos app, greater customization for the placement and look of your Home Screen apps, the ability to rework your Control Center and Lock Screen shortcuts, new app locking and hiding abilities and much more.
iPhone 16 Ultra: Outlook
As we've noted throughout this article, the outlook for the iPhone 16 Ultra was never particularly bright — with much of the improvements slated for this phone allegedly heading to the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead. And talk of an Ultra model for future iPhones may give way to the iPhone 17 Slim, should Apple put the focus on thinner, lighter devices.
Should an iPhone Ultra ever happen, we do hope some of its rumored features like the buttonless design find their way to the Slim model. And if the Slim proves to be the ultimate iPhone that the Ultra was rumored to be, no one's really going to care about the name change.
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