The iPhone 16 is coming soon, Apple has announced September 9th as the date for its annual fall product event. But even though there are still two weeks until the new iPhones are unveiled, some people are only focusing on the iPhone 17.
That would be the device Apple plans to launch in 2025, by the way, not the one you could have in your hands this time next month. I’ve heard of delayed gratification, but that’s going a bit too far.
Still, I can understand the interest in the iPhone 17, even though four new iPhone models are slated to launch sooner rather than later. While the iPhone 16 lineup has a lot to offer, the rumored changes aren’t necessarily a stunner. From the standard iPhone 16 to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the phones launching this month will look very similar to Apple phones currently available.
That could be different with the iPhone 17 if early rumors about the 2025 models prove correct. We’re promised some significant design changes, with the iPhone 17 Slim model rumored to be incredibly thin and light. Add in the likely improvements to the iPhone 17’s camera configuration and chipsets, and that sounds like a very promising update.
However, if you need a phone upgrade, what’s coming in 12 months won’t do you much good. And the expected changes in the iPhone 16 may be mundane compared to what’s being touted for the iPhone 17, but they shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Here’s why the iPhone 16 will be a very good upgrade, no matter what the iPhone 17 ultimately brings to the table.
The exciting thing about the iPhone 17
@tomsguide ♬ Original sound – Tom’s Guide
Don’t get me wrong – there are good reasons to wait for the iPhone 17, especially if you’re a fan of Apple’s Pro phones. Early iPhone 17 rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature 48MP sensors in all rear cameras, giving Apple’s top-of-the-line phone the kind of camera optics that phones like the Pixel 9 Pro XL already have. It’s possible the iPhone 17 Pro models will have more RAM, which would help with all the built-in AI features Apple will add over the next year or so.
But even if you’re considering the standard iPhone, you can expect a big improvement over current models. We don’t think the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus will see a refresh rate upgrade, meaning the 60Hz will still stick around. Instead, Apple will likely follow the lead of almost every other major phone maker and bring 120Hz to its cheaper flagships in 2025. The A19 chipset expected to power all of Apple’s 2025 phones could also be based on a 2-nanometer process, which would result in both performance gains and improved battery efficiency.
Of all the rumored changes, however, the iPhone 17 Slim seems to have captured most people’s imaginations (or at least the imagination of my colleague Mark Spoonauer). If you think phones have become boring and interchangeable, the Slim offers the prospect of something different. It’s rumored to be just 5mm thin, which would reduce the thickness of the current iPhone 15 Pro Max by more than 3mm. If you carry a phone around with you everywhere you go – and that’s most of us, I suppose – that’s an attractive prospect.
Why you should still get the iPhone 16
I understand the urge to wait to upgrade because you expect something better in the future. But something better is really always comes a little later. You could put off buying a new phone forever because you’re promised the next model. While that’s probably good for your short-term budget, it doesn’t do much to keep your tech somewhat up to date.
“If you accumulate enough tomorrows, you’ll find you’re left with a lot of empty yesterdays,” says Harold Hill in “The Music Man.” I don’t think he’s referring to smartphone upgrades in this context, but I think it’s good advice for people wondering if one of the upcoming iPhone 16 models is right for them.
We won’t know until Apple officially announces the specs of its new phones, but based on the rumors circulating out there about the iPhone 16, I think the answer to that question is yes – yes, there are changes coming to Apple’s phone lineup that should be beneficial to most potential upgraders.
Want better displays? The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are said to have larger panels than their current counterparts, with at least one rumor predicting higher maximum brightness for the Pro models.
Want improved cameras? The iPhone 16 Pro is said to adopt the tetraprism telephoto lens that Apple added to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, meaning a longer 5x zoom for both Pro phones. We’ve also heard that the ultra-wide camera sensor will be upgraded from 12MP to 48MP. That means better images and the flexibility to crop things.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to adopt the Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro models, and each new iPhone is expected to get a Capture button to support image capture. And best of all, Apple may finally stop using last year’s silicon in this year’s phones, as the standard iPhone is expected to run on a new A18 chipset. (The Pro models should still have an advantage here with an A18 Pro system-on-chip, but at least some level of parity is returning to the iPhone lineup.)
There are still some gaps that we need to fill, whether through the rumor mill or from Apple itself at the September 9 launch event. There is little information on what kind of battery life to expect, although it is likely that the A18 silicon will offer improved power efficiency, especially compared to models with the A16 Bionic processor like the iPhone 15. We also don’t know if Apple will keep prices unchanged, although there are good arguments for avoiding price increases at all costs.
iPhone 16 outlook
That’s not to say everyone out there should throw away their current iPhone and upgrade to the iPhone 16. If you bought an iPhone 15 at some point in the last year, you’re probably more than happy with your current phone – even if you have a standard iPhone 15 that can’t support Apple Intelligence features. Even the iPhone 14 models released in 2022 might be worth keeping, especially if you’re even the slightest bit intrigued by what you’ve heard about the iPhone 17 so far.
But for everyone else, the iPhone 16 will be quite a substantial upgrade, assuming the rumored improvements to Apple’s phone come true. You’ll get a phone with a better display, a better camera, and a faster chipset that can run Apple’s latest AI features. To me, that’s worth far more than the promise of a thinner phone sometime in the near future.
