Your smartphone’s screen is what you spend most of your time looking at, so naturally, phone makers have a big incentive to spruce up the panels included with new phone releases. Expect the iPhone 16 to follow suit when it releases later this year, bringing some pretty significant display improvements to each of the four new models.
As we’ve previously reported, displays have become a key way for phone makers to differentiate their devices, hence the push to add brighter displays with fast refresh rates to the best phones. Certainly, last year’s iPhone 15 releases didn’t pass up the opportunity for a display upgrade, with the standard iPhone getting a brighter panel and Apple shrinking the bezels around the iPhone 15 Pro screens.
Expect the improvements to continue with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models this fall. We’ve been following the rumors about all the changes to the upcoming phones and are reporting on them as if they would be a particular area of interest. Here are the biggest display improvements planned for the iPhone 16, as well as what these changes could mean for anyone considering an upgrade from these phones.
New screen sizes for iPhone 16 Pro models
This could be the biggest display change coming to iPhones this fall, literally. Early rumors suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max screens will increase from the sizes first established with the iPhone 12 Pro models in 2020.
The screen size rumor has it that the iPhone 16 Pro will offer a 6.3-inch screen, compared to 6.1 inches on the iPhone 15 Pro. Likewise, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is said to feature a 6.9-inch panel compared to the 6.7-inch screen of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Since talk of larger screens for the iPhone 16 Pro surfaced, evidence has only been mounting that Apple is going to make this change. We’ve seen models of the iPhone 16 lineup reflecting the new screen sizes as well as renders of the iPhone 16 Pro.
Adjusting the screen size of the iPhone 16 Pro would further differentiate the Pro models from the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, as the latter two phones are expected to retain their 6.1 screen sizes and 6.7 inches. Bringing out the Pro models has been an important part of Apple’s smartphone strategy in recent years, so this would fit in with that approach.
From a practical standpoint, the expanded display would give iPhone 16 Pro owners more screen real estate to work with. And it would also give the iPhone 16 Pro model more space to house a tetra-lens telephoto lens – one of the camera improvements being talked about for the iPhone 16 Pro.
A brighter screen
As we noted, the iPhone 15 saw its screen increased to a peak HDR brightness of 1,600 nits while its peak outdoor brightness increased to 2,000 nits. Rumors say that it will be the turn of the Pro models to see a similar increase this fall.
Specifically, a leak on Weibo predicts a 20% improvement in brightness levels on the iPhone 16 Pro (and likely the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well). The brightness increase apparently applies to typical use, or SDR content, with the iPhone 16 Pro retaining the 1,600 nits maximum for HDR content found on current iPhones.
It’s unclear whether the brightness improvement would also extend to the standard iPhone 16, but Apple would certainly be very motivated to use brighter panels if possible. The Galaxy S24 models launched by Samsung earlier this year promise a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits, while the OnePlus 12 claims to be able to reach 4,500 nits under certain conditions. (This didn’t happen in our testing, although the 1,115 nits we measured in SDR was very bright.) Even the mid-range Pixel 8a display can match the peak brightness of flagship phones from Google.
In other words, Apple’s main competitors are all improving the brightness of their phone screens. It will be interesting to see if Apple follows suit.
More effective displays
Brightness is only half the battle with display specs. You also want a panel that doesn’t drain your phone’s battery. And it looks like Apple is hoping to make progress in that regard with the iPhone 16.
Last year, a rumor surfaced that Samsung Display – which supplies many of the panels used by Apple for its phones – was planning to replace blue fluorescent technology with blue phosphorescence technology on a new set of OLED materials. This move would increase the energy efficiency of the screen, theoretically helping phones equipped with this particular panel last longer on a charge.
For this rumor to affect the iPhone 16, it would take a few logical steps: first, that Samsung Display will supply the panels for this year’s iPhones, and second that this more energy-efficient OLED panel will be ready on time. for the iPhone 16. Still, with battery life being a priority for many phone makers, one might expect Apple to jump at the chance to use components that could improve longevity already impressive of its iPhone models.
Thinner bezels for the iPhone 16
Of all the announced changes to the iPhone 16 displays, this one seems the least likely to happen, but we’ll share it anyway. Screen makers are turning to a new process called Border Reduction Structure that makes changes to wiring and circuitry to allow the bottom bezel of phone screens to become thinner. On devices like the iPhone, which have symmetrical bezels, this would result in thinner bezels all around.
So what’s the problem here? The BRS process can complicate display manufacturing, so suppliers would struggle to make enough of them to provide Apple with the panels it needs for the iPhone 16 launch. As a result, we’d be surprised if this happens. happened, but happy if it did.
That’s because Apple reduced the screen bezels of the iPhone 15 Pro last year. This resulted in displayed images, videos, and other content appearing more than iPhones with thicker bezels.
No change in refresh rate
While we are announcing bad news, we might as well talk about an improvement in the display of the iPhone 16 which will certainly not happen. While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models will continue to feature displays with adaptive 120Hz refresh rates and support for always-on displays, Apple apparently has no plans to increase the refresh rate. refresh on iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus. These phones should continue to have a fixed 90Hz refresh rate.
Therefore, if you opt for the iPhone 16 and/or iPhone 16 Plus, you won’t benefit from smoother scrolling or more immersive graphics. And the lack of always-on display support means you can’t make full use of the sleep feature. Sleep turns your phone into a smart display when you charge it horizontally, but on phones without an always-on screen, they go to sleep after about 20 seconds.
iPhones with 60Hz displays use low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels. To support faster refresh rates, they need to upgrade to the low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels used for Apple’s ProMotion displays. This change is not expected to happen until 2025 and the iPhone 17.
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