Apple this week unveiled the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. As always, there were many rumors leading up to the event that gave us an idea of what to expect from the devices, with some proving accurate and others not.
Below, we have recapped some of the bigger hits and misses from the iPhone 16 rumor mill.
Hits
- Larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
- A camera button with swipe controls and pressure sensitivity for all iPhone 16 models
- 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence in all iPhone 16 models
- An upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera for the iPhone 16 Pro models
- 5x optical zoom for the iPhone 16 Pro
- A18 and A18 Pro chips manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process for the iPhone 16 series
- Internal design changes with improved heat dissipation for iPhone 16 models
- Vertically-aligned rear cameras on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- Action button expanded to iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- Anti-reflective lens coating for iPhone 16 cameras
- Ultra-thin display bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro models
- Color-infused rear glass continuing to be used for iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- Easier battery replacements in response to EU law
- 40W USB-C charging, which seems to be roughly accurate in real-world testing
- 4K video recording at up to 120 FPS on iPhone 16 Pro models
Mixed
- Wi-Fi 7 support was rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models only, but the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus also support Wi-Fi 7.
- Improved microphones for iPhone 16 Pro models, but Apple did not mention this upgrade being aimed at Apple Intelligence and Siri as rumored.
- The new "Desert Titanium" color name for the iPhone 16 Pro models leaked, but an additional color rumored at the time failed to materialize.
- iPhone 16 models have larger batteries for longer battery life, but the exact battery capacities have yet to be confirmed.
- Some of the leaked dimensions and weights for iPhone 16 Pro models were accurate, including the devices having the same thickness as iPhone 15 Pro models, but some of the figures were slightly off.
Misses
- "Dramatically increased optical zoom" for the Telephoto camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Increased display brightness, twice rumored for iPhone 16 models
- 2TB storage rumor proved to be wrong yet again
- Polished titanium frame for iPhone 16 Pro models
- 256GB of base storage and $1,099 starting price in U.S. for iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 pre-orders start on a Friday as usual, not Thursday
With so many rumors leading up to the iPhone 16 event, this list is not comprehensive.