The iPhone 16's release is just over the horizon, but that's not stopping the leaks and rumors from continuing to pour in. The latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests Apple plans a modest upgrade for this generation, but he did highlight a few interesting changes we're excited to see.
Of course, the biggest selling point is that all four iPhone 16 models will run Apple Intelligence, the tech giant's take on on-device generative AI that was revealed at WWDC 2024. Similar to Microsoft Copilot in Windows, it can access your calendar, Mail, and other data stored on your Apple devices to perform tasks like rewriting and generating text, adding generative images, cleaning up distracting objects in the background of your photos, and other features.
"All the iPhone 16 models will run Apple Intelligence, but it will also work with the iPhone 15 Pro versions," Gurman said. "It’s hard to tell how much of an enticement this will be. As I said last week, I don’t think these features alone will be reason to upgrade."
To be able to run Apple Intelligence smoothly, all four models are getting upgraded silicon (the A18 chip) and will come with 8 GB of memory as well.
As previously rumored, the action button, previously an iPhone 15 Pro exclusive, is making its way to all four iPhone 16 models this time around. This handy little button, which sits on the left side of the iPhone 15 Pro and is likely to be situated the same on the iPhone 16, uses haptic feedback to let you know when it's been long pressed. A short press lets you quickly check the ringer status (on or muted) while a long press can be programmed to perform all sorts of functions. That being said, since iOS 18 is also tipped to roll out a more customizable Control Center and changeable Lock Screen options, that may make the Action Button less useful for those kinds of shortcuts.
The upcoming generation of high-end iPhones will sport a new camera control on the right side of the phone that also uses haptic feedback. A short press triggers the autofocus function, similar to how it works on a DSLR camera, while a long press takes the picture and swiping along the button zooms the focus in and out. Best of all it works whether you're shooting photos or capturing video.
That's not the only upgrade exclusive to the Pro models. Gurman echoed previous rumors that Apple is bumping up the display sizes for its high-end iPhones, from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro and from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Finally, the color options are expected to get the usual refresh. So far there are four rumored colors for the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, three of which are black, white, and grey, but the fourth color has been the subject of debate. Gurman said we can expect to see the blue color offered with the iPhone 15 Pro to be replaced by rose gold, an iPhone color option that was popular a few years back. Other leakers have suggested we could get a cement gray and desert yellow mix, so I for one am happy to see the return of one of my favorite colors instead.
All of this should be taken with a grain of salt for now, as we won't get the official word from Apple until sometime next month. In the meantime, be sure to check out our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs for all the latest news and rumors.
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