A total of four iPhone 16 models are expected to be introduced in early September: iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max. According to the latest leak and rumor about the iPhone 16 series, the phone will also lack 8K video recording, a feature Android flagships have been offering for years.
No 8K support:
With Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro models, people expected the phones to support 8K video recording. The resolution requirement for 8K video recording is 7680 x 4320 pixels, which is about 33.2 million pixels.
Apple is unable to enable 8K recording due to one more problem. There is a lot of storage required when recording in Apple’s 10-bit ProRes format. For the base variants with lower storage, bumping the resolution to 8K isn’t a good idea.
Apple may upgrade the base iPhone 16 Pro with 256GB storage, which is still insufficient for 10-bit ProRes recording in 8K resolution, according to TrendForce. A minute of 10-bit ProRes 1080P video on an iPhone takes up about 1.7GB, while a minute of video in 4K mode takes up about 6GB.
The video recording will, however, be upgraded. In addition to the 4K 60fps recording of last year’s iPhones, the iPhone 16 Pro (and likely the iPhone 16 Pro Max) will support 4K 120fps recording.
As a next-generation image format, JPEG XL offers better compression and quality than older formats like JPEG.
Apple has already added support for the image format in iOS 17 and macOS 14. It is rumoured that the iPhone 16 series will support JPEG XL, a format that has not been integrated directly into smartphone camera systems.
Storage bump on iPhone 16 Pro:
If you like the Pro model but find limited storage a problem, you might be in for a treat. The upcoming iPhone 16 Pro is likely to ditch the 128GB base storage option and bump it up to 256GB, according to a report from Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce (via MacRumors).
Last year, Apple bumped the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s base storage to 256GB. Therefore, the Pro model of the iPhone 16 series should follow suit. The iPhone 16 Pro’s increased storage could, however, increase its starting price.
Due to the tetraprism zoom lens, previously exclusive to the Pro Max model, this price increase might be more palatable.
On the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year, Apple introduced the tetraprism zoom lens, which naturally increased the price. The company increased the storage from 128GB to 256GB to make the price more acceptable.
Additionally, the report corroborated previously leaked details about the iPhone 16 series hardware. Non-Pro models are expected to receive the A18 chip, while Pro models are expected to have the A18 Pro chip.
The RAM on non-Pro models could also be increased from 6GB to 8GB, possibly catering to Apple Intelligence features.
All of these are early speculations and concrete details regarding the iPhone 16 series are likely to emerge closer to the launch event, currently scheduled for September 9th.
