iPhone 16 series to get big RAM and connectivity boosts, claims expert

(Image credit: Future)

published 15 January 2024

While all eyes will be on the Samsung Galaxy S24 launch this week, Apple is still beavering away on the next generation of its own flagship phones. And new reports indicate that there will be some important improvements under the hood of every iPhone 16, although inevitably some changes will be reserved for the most expensive Pro models.

The first details key changes to the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus. According to tech analyst Jeff Pu (as cited by MacRumors), both the standard and Plus iPhones will be getting 8GB of RAM. That's up from the 6GB of RAM that's in the current non-Pro iPhone 15 models, and it should deliver smoother app switching and better multitasking: the current iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have 8GB and are both pretty silky.

According to Pu, we'll also be getting improved connectivity in multiple iPhone models.

iPhone 16: better Wi-Fi and faster 5G

Pu says that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will also get another feature from the current Pros: Wi-Fi 6E support. That would bring the phones up to speed with the latest iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and desktop Mac models, and the upgrade would deliver faster speeds with lower latency and interference when connected to compatible routers.

The iPhone 16 is also expected to get an improved 5G modem, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75, which delivers better performance compared to the current X70. However, Pu believes that the X75 will only be coming to the Pro models this year.

Although we're not expecting dramatic design changes in this year's iPhones, there will be some physical differences. One of those differences is the addition of an Action button to the non-Pro iPhones.

Also according to MacRumors, Apple has been tweaking the Action button to make it more like the one in the current iPhone 15 Pro.

It has apparently tested four different designs but it sticking with the iPhone 15 Pro-style one for now, although there's still a possibility that that might change. The internal project to bring haptic buttons to iPhones is apparently called "Project Bongo".

That’s not an important detail, I know, but it’s a fun one.

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).