The iPhone 15 lineup, particularly the Pro models, will allegedly feature a slew of changes, including new lenses, a titanium frame, a USB-C port, the 3nm A17 Bionic chip, thinner bezels, an action button, and a new periscope camera for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
While those features don’t sound lackluster, the series doesn’t look like a huge upgrade over the iPhone 14. But the iPhone 16 could be a meaningful upgrade, according to a research note from Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu, which was seen by MacRumors.
The iPhone 14 Pro got a new 48MP camera last year and even though Apple will probably make a few changes to ensure the iPhone 15 Pro gets a spot on the best camera phones of 2023 list, the megapixel count is going to remain the same.
According to Pu, the 12MP ultrawide camera will be swapped out for a 48MP ultrawide shooter next year, which should theoretically allow the iPhone 16 Pro to gather more light and churn out higher-quality images when using the 0.5× mode. The new sensor might also allow the iPhone 16 Pro to capture 48MP ProRAW images for more details.
The analyst also expects the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max to support the WiFi 7 standard which promises better speed, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. It is expected to offer data transfer speeds of more than 40 Gbps, which would be a 4x increase over Wi-Fi 6E, which the iPhone 15 Pro is expected support.
The iPhone 16 series is still at least 13 months away from being announced and Apple’s plans may change in that time. The next-generation Wi-Fi 7 standard is not even here yet and its release might get pushed to late 2024, so it’s possible that it won’t be ready in time for the iPhone 16’s launch.
If the rumors end up materializing, the iPhone 16 Pro would indeed be a pretty massive upgrade, but at the moment, nothing can be said with certainty.
