Apple has never been one to follow industry trends, so while it’s not uncommon to find budget Android phones with 120Hz screens, Apple has stubbornly stuck with a 60Hz display on even the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, reserving 120Hz for its premium-priced Pro models. But this could all change with next year's iPhone 17 line.
According to a report in The Elec (via MacRumors), Apple is likely to equip all four iPhone 17 models – meaning the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Plus, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max – with an LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) screen.
That would be a change for the standard and Plus models, which currently use LTPS (low-temperature polycrystalline silicon) displays. LTPO displays support 120Hz refresh rates, and can also drop as low as 1Hz, to offer more power efficiency when a high refresh rate isn’t needed. Apple uses that lower refresh rate for always-on displays on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is another feature the standard iPhone 15 lacks.
So if Apple equips the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus with LTPO screens, these phones will almost certainly also have refresh rates that can range from 1Hz to 120Hz, and in turn they’ll also almost certainly support Apple’s always-on display feature.
The Elec additionally says that Chinese supplier BOE has delivered sample LTPO screens to Apple, in the hopes of being the supplier for the iPhone 17 series. Whether it gets the green light will reportedly come down to whether it can produce enough while maintaining Apple’s high quality standards. But if not, LG Display or Samsung Display will likely be called in, so this decision shouldn’t affect whether all four iPhone 17 models get LTPO screens.
An overdue but uncertain upgrade
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
We’d take this leak with a pinch of salt, especially as it’s talking about phones that won’t be out for around 18 months. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus might have 120Hz displays, so it’s certainly very possible.
It’s long overdue too, but Apple will want to give people lots of reasons to choose a pricier Pro model instead – so if the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus do finally catch up on this front, we might see the gap widen in other areas. With the Pro models already having better chipsets and more cameras, it’s not clear what that would entail.
One possibility is under-display Face ID, allowing Apple to shrink the camera cut-out on the Pro models. This is something we’ve heard rumored, though as with everything else iPhone 17-related, this is far from certain. After all, the September-bound iPhone 16 line hasn’t even launched yet.
Apple has stuck with broadly the same camera design on its Pro iPhones ever since the launch of the iPhone 11 Pro, but with the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, there might be a big change.
This is according to leaker Majin Bu, who – posting on X (formerly Twitter) – has claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro (and presumably therefore also the iPhone 16 Pro Max) will have a triangular camera block.
Or rather, it will retain the squarish block of the iPhone 15 Pro, but the lenses within it will be housed in a raised triangle, rather than jutting out of the square individually. You can see how this might look in the post below.
Breaking news, I had the opportunity to consult different resources and both claim that there will be a change in the design of the new iPhone 16 Pro. It is said that the design will not resemble a fidget spinner as I reported, but will be more similar to a razor, they also say… pic.twitter.com/7DTj7CJYdGFebruary 24, 2024
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You can see that the flash and the LiDAR scanner are within the square but not within the triangle, which just houses the trio of lenses.
It looks a bit weird here, however, this image is just for “demonstration purposes”, with the information received by Bu simply being that the design will “have the shape of a triangle” and “be more similar to a razor”, such as the one pictured. So even if this leak is accurate, the exact design may differ a bit from this image.
Apparently this change in design would “allow more cameras to be added to the module in future”, though it’s not clear how a raised triangle would help with that.
An unlikely update
We would however take this leak with a massive helping of salt. The source has a mixed track record and they claim that “I have no way of verifying whether this information is 100% accurate or true.”
More damningly, another leaker (@URedditor) replied claiming that this design isn’t real, then followed that up by saying "unless they developed an alternate backplate design in complete secrecy - possible but very unlikely."
So right now we suspect this won’t be the design of the cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. But it certainly seems time for an updated camera design, so we wouldn’t totally rule this out either.
We probably won’t be certain of the iPhone 16 Pro’s design for a while yet, as it’s likely to land in September, alongside the rest of the iPhone 16 line. But we’re sure to hear plenty more rumors and leaks before then.
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The design elements in iOS don't often change – and when they do, it's not usually by much – but the upcoming iOS 18 software could indeed have a significantly updated look, according to one well-placed source.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (via 9to5Mac), Apple "is indeed working to update the design of iOS as early as this year". That doesn't give us much detail to work with, but it does suggest there will be noticeably different visuals.
Gurman – usually reliable when it comes to predicting Apple's moves – was in part responding to rumors that iOS 18 would borrow some design inspiration from visionOS on the Apple Vision Pro. That "total overhaul" isn't happening, says Gurman, though it sounds as though Apple may get part of the way there in 2024.
New versions of iOS are usually unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, so we don't have too long to wait to see what Apple's been working on – and how much different in style it is to iOS 17.
An "ambitious and compelling" update
iOS 18 will be coming to the iPhone 15 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The biggest visual overhaul we've ever seen for iOS came with iOS 7, launched back in 2013: skeuomorphism (where digital elements are designed like their real world equivalents) was out, and a much more modern look was in.
In the decade since, app icons and menus have been tweaked and adjusted, but there hasn't been what you would describe as a full-scale redesign. We'll have to wait and see what iOS 18 brings when WWDC 2024 gets underway.
Gurman has previously gone on record as saying that iOS 18 is going to be an "ambitious and compelling" upgrade, so it sounds as though there's a lot to look forward to. As with everything else in tech lately, generative AI is likely to play an important role – with Siri and iOS set to be updated with some big new AI-driven capabilities.
According to Gurman, a visual refresh is also coming to macOS, though it'll lag behind iOS: the updates Apple is planning to the macOS design are apparently still in the early stages, and won't be completed until 2025 or 2026.
It's hard to imagine the notch on the iPhone 14 or the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15 looking any different than they currently do, but of course there will have been a full design and review process behind them – and some unused ideas just leaked out.
According to information obtained by MacRumors, a variety of different designs were explored before the ones that we now have got finalized. Some mockup images have also been put together to show how the rejected ideas would've looked.
One of the ideas apparently under consideration was a pop-up sidebar down the right of the screen, to go alongside the notch – a sidebar that would be used to show the time, signal strength, battery level, and other bits of key information.
Apple also reportedly thought about extending the notch all the way across the top of the screen – so less a notch, more an Android-style status bar – which may have had the added benefit of giving users a little bit more battery life.
A design for life
Dynamic Island ideas that didn't make it (Image credit: MacRumors)
Apple's design team was busy when it came to introducing the Dynamic Island too, which first appeared on the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. One of the rejected ideas here was a full row of status icons underneath the selfie camera.
It seems that Apple designers also toyed with the idea of having a Dynamic Island that was permanently elongated – so just an island, in that case – before deciding that it should change shape and size depending on context.
Head over to MacRumors to see the full set of mockups and imagine what might have been. It's possible that some of these ideas might appear again in the future, as Apple continues to tweak the look of its iPhone series.
It's also possible that both the notch and the Dynamic Island will eventually disappear altogether, if Apple can figure out how to get the selfie camera and the sensors next to it to sit under the display somehow (as Samsung has with the Galaxy Z Fold 5).
You'll see in our iPhone 15 review that we were very impressed with Apple's flagship phone, but its launch hasn't gone without a hitch or two – and it looks as though a significant number of people are experiencing Bluetooth issues with the device.
As reported by MacRumors, based on comments on the site's forums, these Bluetooth problems have been ongoing since the iPhone 15 first went on sale in September 2023. The bulk of the complaints seem to be related to connecting to older Bluetooth devices, including car stereos and headphones.
Users at MacRumors are talking about audio that will "cut out and reconnect" and "frequent disconnects" over Bluetooth. While some of those affected were told that iOS 17 updates would fix the issues, reports have continued to come in even as Apple rolls out new versions of the iPhone software.
What's more, judging from the user reports it looks like all of the four iPhone 15 models – the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max – are having the same kind of trouble here.
Finding a fix
The iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
It's difficult to gauge the scale of the iPhone 15 Bluetooth issue: it's clearly not affecting every iPhone 15, or every Bluetooth device, but a thread on the official Apple support forum has now logged 1,718 people saying "me too".
According to feedback given to MacRumors, the only way to fix these Bluetooth issues is to request a replacement device from Apple – iPhones come with a one-year warranty as standard. Restarting or resetting the phone, or applying "other typical fixes" doesn't seem to help in getting Bluetooth working properly.
That certain people are seeing the problem disappear when they get a replacement iPhone 15 suggests that only certain units are faulty. We haven't heard anything from Apple on the matter at the moment, but it doesn't take much detective work to figure out that the Bluetooth module or a related setting could be to blame.
It's also worth saying that Bluetooth issues often come up with multiple devices, so not all of these complaints – of which there are a substantial number, if you run a quick web search – might be the fault of the iPhone 15.
So, what I thought would be a brief flirtation with iOS and an iPhone 13 Pro at the end of 2021 actually led to a committed relationship with an Apple smartphone. Sure, I still have access to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but my SIM card (we still use them in the UK) sits in an iPhone.
Lately, the variation of Android and general boredom with iPhones nearly saw me swap back to Google's smartphone platform, but just when I thought I was out, the iPhone 15 Pro Max pulled me back in.
And I’m ok with that, as it’s a fantastic flagship-grade smartphone. However, it might be a little too good – to the extent that I have no clear idea of where phones can go next to be more than just iterative upgrades over their predecessors.
But let me first tell you why the iPhone 15 Pro Max has my attention, despite me never really being into the Max phones.
The sum of its tweaks
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
First off, the titanium construction is a game changer, taking what could be a heavy and unwieldy 6.7-inch-display-equipped phone into a device that I can just about use one-handed. And subtle tweaks to the sides, adding a degree of curvature at the edges means the iPhone 15 Pro Max still rocks the slick flat-edges Apple brought back with the iPhone 12 series but makes them a little more comfortable to hold. The matte finish of the phone’s rear and the way the colors are blended with the titanium chassis is also very neat.
While the Dynamic Island isn’t perfect, it's a welcome departure from the notch I begrudgingly got used to on the iPhone 13 Pro. And I don’t feel it’s much more intrusive than the punch-hole cameras on Android rivals like the Google Pixel 8 Pro; plus the added functionality is appreciated if not always used to its full potential.
I like the new Action button too, which I use to quickly trigger the ‘torch’ – aka the rear camera flash. USB-C connectivity is very welcome. And I still love Apple’s take on a 1Hz to 120Hz screen with its ProMotion display. Combined with slick software, the iPhone 15 Pro Max feels very fast.
Of course, it's ridiculously fast with its A17 Pro chip, which can run console-quality games on a device that’s a heck of a lot more pocketable than an Xbox Series X. There’s scope for more performance to help these games run a little better, but with how much Apple Arcade has to offer, you're never stuck finding a neat little game to play while surviving a tedious commute.
Finally, the camera suite on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is fantastic. The move to a 5x telephoto optical zoom lens adds a much-appreciated degree of flexibility to the camera system, while the main and ultrawide cameras can pump out consistently great photos time and time again. I stand by the decision to put the Galaxy S24 Ultra on the top spot of TechRadar’s best camera phones list, but I prefer Apple’s computational photography and image signal processing over Samsung's.
Video is simply class-leading, and it’s dead-easy to record usable footage, even if you have all the camera skills of a dopey dog.
I’ve always rallied against what can be a sycophantic love of Apple and its devices, feeling that Cupertino gets a pass for things people would crucify an Android phone for missing; I’m talking a 60Hz display on the standard iPhone 15 and the glacially slow adoption of USB-C. But while I can’t defend the standard or iPhone 15 Plus, I do believe the iPhone 15 Pro Max is pretty much the pinnacle of smartphones right now.
Where do we go from here?
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
The thing is, this all has me concerned that Apple won’t have much left in the tank to innovate further. Sure, Tim Cook’s crew will surely follow in Google and Samsung's footsteps and embrace generative AI tools. And it’s not hard to forecast that the likes of the iPhone 16 will be faster and have better battery life than before, perhaps with some proper fast charging added into the mix, too.
But in terms of there being a big step-change for iPhones, and indeed Samsung’s Galaxy series, it feels like we’ve hit a plateau in smartphone evolution and innovation, at least in hardware terms.
I’m old enough to remember the days when each new smartphone felt like a real step up from what came before, with cameras getting better and better, performance really mattering from generation to generation, and all sorts of new features getting added. These days, one generation of phones is largely similar to what came before.
Granted, a suite of small changes to the iPhone 15 Pro Max have made it my phone of choice and one worth upgrading to. But now I feel Apple has nailed the formula, I can’t see the iPhone 16 or iPhone 17 being much better: that’s unless someone comes up with massively different screen tech or battery materials.
So, am I now bored of phones? Well, not quite. I think my hope for exciting iPhones will be laid at the promise of a foldable iPhone, as I reckon Apple has the scope and savvy to nail a great folding phone experience. Equally, I’m willing to embrace the software side of innovation, of which AI is surely going to play a part.
But for now, I’ll just have to comfort myself with the idea that I have a near-perfect phone for me at this moment. And at a time when all sorts of things look bleak, that’s no bad thing.
This looks to be the year of AI on iPhones, as it has widely been rumored that iOS 18 will include numerous new AI features, while the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro might have some exclusive AI skills. Of course, Siri is likely to be at the heart of any big AI push, and to help make the most of that, Apple will reportedly put better microphones in the iPhone 16 line than its current phones.
This is according to Jeff Pu, an analyst at Haitong International Securities (via MacRumors) known for often accurate Apple leaks and predictions.
Apparently the upgraded microphones in the iPhone 16 line will offer a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the microphones in the iPhone 15 series, allowing them to hear your voice more clearly, which in turn should improve Siri’s ability to understand you and provide accurate responses.
If Siri is overhauled with AI upgrades this year then it’s likely people will be using it far more, so it makes sense to improve the way we interact with Siri too.
A claim we've heard before
This also isn’t the first time we’ve heard this claim of upgraded microphones, as analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote much the same on his Medium page late last year.
Kuo clarified that all four iPhone 16 models (meaning the iPhone 16 itself, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max) will apparently have upgraded microphones, and additionally claimed that these microphones will have better water resistance than the current ones.
Presumably these upgrades would also be beneficial when speaking on the phone, but both sources say it’s due to AI upgrades to Siri that they’re being included. So you might well need a phone in the iPhone 16 line to get the best or complete iPhone AI experience, even if some of the AI features come as part of iOS 18.
In any case, we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt for now, but the sources are credible and it’s an upgrade that would make sense. We should find out exactly how good the iPhone 16’s microphones are when it launches, which will likely happen in September.
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It’s looking like we might still be waiting quite a while for the first foldable iPhone, but we now have a clearer idea of exactly when it could land, with the latest leak pointing to September 2026.
This leak comes from Korean site Alpha Economy (via Android Authority), citing “an official familiar with Apple's internal affairs,” and while some previous leaks had also suggested the foldable iPhone might land in 2026, this is the first time the release window has been narrowed down to a month.
A launch in September 2026 would likely mean the foldable iPhone lands alongside the iPhone 18, as Apple tends to launch its flagships in September. That would also mean it would probably land slightly after the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which will likely launch in August of 2026 based on past form.
The best selling foldable by a long way
In any case, this source additionally claims that a “significant number” of people who were working on the Vision Pro have been shifted over to development of this phone, and that Apple expects to sell around 50 million units.
For reference, DSCC predicted in mid-2023 that 15.8 million foldable phones would be sold throughout the whole of 2023, so 50 million just from own brand – even if that brand is Apple – seems an extremely high number. But if any company can make foldable phones truly mainstream, it’s this one.
We would however take all of this with a pinch of salt, especially the September 2026 release date. That’s still a long way out, so even if this information is accurate, anything could happen to change Apple’s plans in the meantime.
We also recently heard that apparently development of the foldable iPhone was on hold because Apple hasn’t been able to find a screen that meets its requirements, and that claim seems a little at odds with this latest leak.
One thing’s for sure – we won’t be seeing a foldable iPhone anytime soon, and while it might land alongside the iPhone 18 it’s really too early to be at all sure.
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As far as the design of the rear camera on the iPhone 16 is concerned, the rumors are only pointing in one direction: towards a vertically stacked alignment for two camera lenses, in the style of the iPhone 12. Now there's another leak to put on the same pile.
Well-known tipster Majin Bu (via MacRumors) has posted what are claimed to be camera lens molds together with a mockup of the back of the iPhone 16 – and once again the two rear-camera lenses are shown on top of each other.
Have a look around the back of an iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus, and you'll see the 48MP and 12MP cameras are arranged in a diagonal pattern, with the flash and microphone also visible on a slightly raised, square camera bump.
We've not seen the cameras stacked like this on the back of an iPhone since the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 mini, which were launched alongside each other in October 2020 – so it seems increasingly likely that the older design is coming back.
iPhone 16 molds and mockups pic.twitter.com/jG5CV8u7g9February 18, 2024
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Going spatial
One of the reasons for the switch is rumored to be so that the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus will be able to record spatial video, the 3D-ish video format that Apple introduced with iOS 17.2 on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
These videos give you a more immersive feel by recording from two slightly different angles – using two camera lenses – at the same time. The only catch is that you need an Apple Vision Pro to be able to get the 3D effect when they're being played back.
Having the feature on all four iPhone 16 models would open the format up to a wider audience, and maybe shift a few more Vision Pros at the same time. At this point though, the only rumors we've heard around camera upgrades (rather than camera positions) have been related to the iPhone 16 Pro.
Apply the usual caution when weighing up this latest leak: there's no guarantee that the information is fully accurate, and even if it is, Apple may make some tweaks to the iPhone 16 design between now and September.
It's been quite a while since we heard anything of note about a foldable iPhone, and now we might have a reason why: the project is apparently on pause for the time being, as Apple can't find a folding display that it's satisfied with.
As per Fixed Focus Digital on Chinese social network Weibo (via MacRumors), Apple has been busy researching and testing screens that bend in the middle, but hasn't been able to find one that meets whatever the required standard is for a foldable iPhone.
It's thought that Samsung is one of the manufacturers that has supplied folding displays to Apple, but for whatever reason, it's not passing the tests. Samsung of course makes its own foldable phones, most recently the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Whether Apple isn't happy with the aesthetics or the durability of the display – or both – isn't immediately clear. What's more, while this tipster is a well-known tech vlogger, they haven't previously offered any Apple leaks, so bear that in mind.
The waiting game
Samsung's latest foldable phones (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The sheer number of rumors that we've seen around an iPhone Fold suggest that a device of this kind must be in development somewhere at Apple, although whether it's ever going to see the light of day remains to be seen.
Apple has traditionally been happy to let the likes of Samsung introduce new mobile technologies before adding them to its own handset – like fingerprint sensors and wireless charging – and it seems that it'll be no different with folding displays.
Another possibility is that Apple will introduce a folding iPad before a folding iPhone, but there's a lot of uncertainty around that device too. It would definitely be larger, which may make it easier to develop a display that Apple is happy with.
Go and take a peek at our Google Pixel Fold review to see what some of the benefits of folding phones are, even if you have to pay a significant amount of money to get hold of them. For a while at least, it seems Apple won't be joining the part.
It might seem like a long time to the iPhone 16 launch, but the next Apple flagship series could be with us in as little as seven months – and a new component leak gives us some idea of the redesign that might be coming to the rear camera module.
Schematics obtained by tipster Majin Bu (via MacRumors) show two camera lenses positioned on top of each other in a vertical arrangement, which would be a departure from the diagonal alignment on the iPhone 15 and other recent models.
In fact, this vertically stacked approach takes us all the way back to the iPhone 12, which launched in 2020. Of course, the Pro models (including the iPhone 15 Pro) have an extra lens, so already use a vertical alignment of sorts.
This redesign hasn't come out of nowhere: we've already seen this new/old camera setup in leaked renders that appeared earlier this month, so there's a growing amount of evidence that this is the direction that Apple is going in.
This would appear to be the new camera module of the iPhone 16, as you can see the vertical positioning is confirmed pic.twitter.com/JWF5olGwQ4February 16, 2024
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The rumors so far
The iPhone 16 rumors are really starting to pick up the pace now. Both the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are rumored to be getting bigger batteries – although the one inside the iPhone 16 Plus is said to be shrinking in capacity size.
Inside the phones we would of course expect performance improvements, and that is indeed where the rumors are pointing. We've also heard talk of a new Capture button, which would allow for greater flexibility when shooting photos and video.
Then there's the software side too: we should be hearing a lot more about iOS 18 in the coming months, and in line with the hottest trend of the moment, it's said to be bringing a host of artificial intelligence upgrades to the iPhone series.
As September draws closer – which is when Apple traditionally launches new iPhones – we should see more leaks and rumors around the iPhone 16 series, and don't be surprised if there's more about this updated camera module design.
The iPhone SE 4 rumors have taken a real ride over the last 12 months or so: maybe it's dead, maybe it isn't, maybe it'll get the Dynamic Island that the other iPhones have. Now a new report is predicting a launch in early 2025, together with a significant display upgrade.
According to South Korean outlet The Elec (via Wccftech), the next iPhone SE is going to break cover "early next year". It's also apparently going to be the first in the SE range to come with an OLED screen, which the flagship iPhones have had since 2017.
We've already heard both of these rumors before – but the fact that they're again being reported adds some extra credence to them. The Elec says display manufacturers including Samsung are competing to supply Apple with the necessary OLED panels.
The OLED display in question is said to be the same as the one on the iPhone 14, which Apple still sells. That's partly why the iPhone SE series is available at a lower price point: Apple reuses older components that have been on production lines for a while.
The wait continues
The iPhone SE might update its look this time around (Image credit: Apple)
We last got an iPhone SE launch back in March, 2022 – our iPhone SE 3 review will fill you in – and Apple hasn't seemed in much of a hurry to bring out a new one. Bear in mind that it now keeps older flagship iPhones on sale, for those wanting a cheaper alternative, and there's a busy market for second-hand iPhones, too.
Reports from last year suggested that Apple had abandoned plans for another iPhone SE, perhaps because it wasn't seeing the sales numbers that would make a new model worthwhile. However, it now seems that we will indeed get the iPhone 4 SE in 2025.
There has been talk that the iPhone SE 4 will at last adopt a more modern look, this time around, ditching the old Home button and adding Face ID and the Dynamic Island. That would no doubt make it more appealing to potential buyers.
The redesign could well come with a bump in screen size, too. That said, the handset is still going to come with trade-offs of course – most probably a single camera around the back, and an older chipset under the hood.
