iPhone 16 Ultra All the rumours so far The iPhone 16 Ultra is the likely breed of new phone from Apple that will be part of this year’s iPhone 16 family. The very expensive iPhone has been rumoured for a while now, and while nothing is official, a fall release date is conceivable.
iPhone 16 Ultra All the rumours so far
As proof that Apple can make extreme items, we already have the Apple Watch Extreme and some Mac chips with Ultra branding. It’s unclear how the iPhone Ultra will differ from the current Pro or Pro Max models, but special features like better cameras or a new exterior design would help.
This is everything we currently know about the iPhone 16 Ultra. Since it’s more likely that Apple will stick with its current models for this year’s iPhone debut, you should also check out our iPhone 16 Pro Max hub.
iPhone 16 Ultra: Release date speculation
The earliest mention of an Ultra variant for the iPhone range was in 2022, when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculated that a phone similar to the Apple Watch Ultra would be released “in the next couple of years.” Despite numerous rumors that Apple could rename its Pro Max phone as the iPhone 15 Ultra, this didn’t happen until 2023.
Gurman didn’t expect an Ultra model at that time. Instead, Gurman said in February 2023 that Apple would be “adding more special features to the Pro Max in addition to working toward an even higher-end Ultra model in early 2024.”
Given there was no sign of an Ultra model during Apple’s fall 2023 iPhone launch, the earliest possible release date for the Ultra is autumn 2024. If Apple follows its customary launch timeline, the earliest date for the iPhone 16 Ultra and the rest of the iPhone 16 series to launch is September 2024.
For what it’s worth, a roadmap of potential Apple product releases is available from Samsung Securities, the company’s financial services division. There’s no mention of the iPhone Ultra in the 2024 heading. It seems the company doesn’t expect such a product to be released this year.
IPHONE 16 ULTRA: POSSIBLE PRICE
We’re even less certain about pricing since we don’t know when the iPhone 16 Ultra will be released or if it will even be released this year. The iPhone 15 Pro Max price has increased by $100 to $1,199. This seems likely to set a base pricing for the iPhone 16 Ultra, especially if the Ultra replaces the Pro Max as the company’s flagship model.
In all honesty, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 costs $400 more than the Apple Watch Series 9 at launch ($799 to be exact). If Apple uses the same pricing approach for its phone portfolio, the Ultra model will cost $1,399. That’s $400 more expensive than the iPhone 15 Pro, which starts at $999. Samsung and Google both charge $1,799 for foldable phones, so the iPhone 16 Ultra won’t be the most expensive smartphone, but its price will put it out of reach for most consumers. That doesn’t seem to work out too well.
We’ll assume for now that the iPhone 16 Ultra will be priced similarly to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and revise our expectations when new pricing speculation emerges.
iPhone 16 Ultra: Design and display
The most important rumour about the iPhone 16 Ultra suggests that Apple could increase the display of the new flagship from 6.9 inches to 6.7 inches, as it did with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This would be the largest iPhone screen ever.
Ahead of the Galaxy S24 Ultra launch in January 2024, Phone Arena compared renders of the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max with a gadget from Samsung. The results showed that Apple’s phone would be slightly wider but slightly taller than the rumoured specifications for the Samsung handset. This is relevant for the device if the iPhone 16 Ultra replaces the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the 2024 phone range.
Before the release of the iPhone 15, there was a report that Apple was considering using a brighter Samsung screen for the iPhone 16 Ultra display. It turns out that the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s maximum brightness remained at 2,000 nits, the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But given that Google’s Pixel 8 Pro has a display with a maximum brightness of 2,400 nits, it’s possible that the iPhone 16 Ultra will switch to a brighter panel.
Apple’s supply chain report suggests that the iPhone 16 models will have a more power-efficient display. According to reports, Samsung, which has historically supplied phone panels to Apple, is moving from blue fluorescent technology to blue phosphorescence technology, which will make the screen consume less power.
The display may also benefit from incredibly thin 1.15mm bezels, thanks to a new manufacturing technique called Border Reduction Structure. This suggests that despite having a 0.2-inch larger display than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Ultra’s body isn’t that big.
Solid state buttons are another rumor about the iPhone 15 Pro that will probably appear in the iPhone 16 Ultra design. Some expected solid-state buttons in Apple’s upcoming phones. These buttons will use haptic feedback to signal the push, replacing the vibrating of the current volume buttonsThe advantage of solid-state buttons is that they have fewer moving parts, which means they’re less likely to wear out over time.
Although the new action button on the iPhone 15 Pro models offers haptic feedback, Apple is said to have encountered technical difficulties in attempting to mass produce the solid-state button. According to recent reports, the iPhone 16 series will include a new capture button in addition to solid state power and volume buttons.
However, it’s unclear whether the same consideration will be given to the action button. It’s possible that Apple has found a solution to fix the iPhone 16 Ultra’s problems, but at least one expert doubts it. Furthermore, it appears that the iPhone 16 action button will look basically the same as the button on the iPhone 15 Pro.
An iPhone without buttons has long been the subject of rumors. It seems that if this is ever going to happen, it will involve an Ultra version of the iPhone.
In fact, according to MacRumors, the iPhone 16 Ultra has an additional button on the right side that is believed to be the capture button. We don’t have too many details yet, but it could be used for the camera and content creation.
iPhone 16 ULTRA: Cameras
The iPhone 15 Pro Max adopts the tetraprism telephoto lens, which increased the device’s optical zoom to 5x, which was the major camera upgrade for the iPhone 15. (The iPhone 15 Pro’s more traditional telephoto lens still has a 3x zoom.) The iPhone 16 Ultra is expected to use a tetraprism lens, which is rumored to be a feature on all iPhone 16 Pro models. However, it could have more zoom to rival the 10x optical zoom of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Other rumors about the iPhone 16 camera include the possibility of a larger sensor for the 48MP main camera to capture more light and an increase in the megapixel rating on the ultrawide camera to 48MP, matching the move Google recently made with the Pixel 8 Pro.
Both of these potential changes will likely affect the iPhone 16 Ultra as well. Additionally, Apple may switch to a different type of telephoto lens for iPhones equipped with that type of camera. According to the report, the new lens is thinner and offers better magnification.
Although we expect spatial video recording on the iPhone 16 Ultra, it appears that the top-tier models may no longer be the only ones getting it, as a rumor suggests that even ordinary iPhone models may get vertical camera arrangement design changes that could enable spatial video capture. This seems to be confirmed by another set of leaked molds and mockups of the iPhone 16, which feature a vertical camera configuration.
iPhone 16 ULTRA: Chipset and battery
Since Apple unveiled the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, it can be argued that the iPhone 16 Ultra will have the best chipset the company is building for its upcoming high-end phones, presumably the A18 Pro, although there hasn’t been much speculation about that silicon yet.
Analyst Jeff Pu, quoted in a story by MacRumors, claims that all iPhone 16 models will feature some sort of A18 chip, with the more powerful A18 Pro – which is said to have processing power comparable to a laptop – reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro version. If the iPhone 16 Ultra is indeed part of Apple’s iPhone lineup, it seems likely that it will be included.
The A17 Pro’s 3nm process means that the rumored Ultra variant will perform exceptionally well, even if it’s not a 2nm chip – it’s likely an upgrade over the iPhone 17. Additionally, according to Pu, some variants will have more die space than the A17 Pro, which could allow for the addition of additional specialized hardware to improve on-device AI.
According to the report, the iPhone 15 Pro variant comes with 8GB of RAM. However, Apple never admits the exact amount of memory, so we have to rely on teardowns to find out. It seems like an Ultra model will need at least 8GB of RAM, although there have been some cases where high-end phones have offered 12GB of memory. A well-known leaker seems to suggest that Apple is not making any changes to the RAM for the iPhone 16 series, which could indicate that the Ultra won’t be released after all.
The first iPhone to feature 256GB of storage in its base configuration is the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Once again, we expect the iPhone 16 Ultra to have at least that much storage. This storage could use a denser, but slower form of memory, allowing for larger capacities – possibly up to 2TB – but slower read/write speeds.
While it’s possible that Apple is still developing its own modem for upcoming iPhone models, Qualcomm announced in September that it would continue to provide modems to Apple until 2026.Assuming the iPhone 16 Ultra launches in the autumn, it’s likely to come with a Qualcomm-supplied modem, especially if Apple decides to develop its own 5G modem. (6G modems are a completely different story).
With battery life that’s comparable to the regular Apple Watch, that’s pretty impressive.Supposed to last twice as long, the Apple Watch Ultra stands out from the competition. Aside from the claim that Apple is placing the battery in a frosted metal shell to enhance heat dispersion, we haven’t heard anything about the iPhone 16 Ultra battery. In other battery-related news, it has been revealed that Apple is looking into changing the locations it puts its batteries together to prevent shortages.
iPhone 16 ULTRA: Software
iOS 18 will be available on any iPhone introduced in the fall. In addition, Apple has shared a lot of information with us about WWDC 2024.
iOS 18 also features a redesigned Photos app, more customization options for the location and appearance of your home screen apps, the ability to modify your Control Center and lock screen shortcuts, new features for locking and hiding apps, and more. These additional features are in addition to the Apple Intelligence features that apply to all of Apple’s primary product lines.
iPhone 16 Ultra: Outlook
Because of all the improvements Apple made to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Ultra has high standards to meet. This phone is already the best iPhone money can buy as it has a better chipset, stronger telephoto lens, extra storage, and longer-lasting battery. How can an Ultra model beat it? Besides, if Apple wants to give its customers something really new, it would probably be better to focus on a folding iPhone rather than an Ultra model.
As rumors about the iPhone 16 Ultra begin to spread, we’ll learn more about it. It’s clear from reports that Apple is considering making such a device. Now it remains to be seen if Samsung can make a phone that’s on par with the Ultra brand.
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