Next year's iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models should feature Wi-Fi 7 support and an upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera lens, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong investment firm Haitong International Securities. Pu revealed this information in a research note about the tech industry released today.
More details about these potential features are outlined below.
Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi 7 devices will be able to send and receive data over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously, resulting in faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. With technologies such as 4K QAM, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to offer peak data transfer speeds of over 40 Gbps, a 4× increase over Wi-Fi 6E.
Apple is still rolling out Wi-Fi 6E support to its devices. The key advantage of Wi-Fi 6E is support for the 6GHz band for increased bandwidth, whereas regular Wi-Fi 6 is limited to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Apple has so far added Wi-Fi 6E to the iPad Pro, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, Mac Pro, and Mac mini, and the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also expected to support the standard.
The progression would be as follows:
- iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max: Wi-Fi 6
- iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max: Wi-Fi 6E
- iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: Wi-Fi 7
48MP Ultra Wide Camera
An upgrade to a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max should allow the lens to capture more light, resulting in improved photos when shooting in 0.5× mode, especially in low-light environments.
iPhone 14 Pro models already have a 48-megapixel Main lens that uses "pixel binning" to merge data from four pixels on the camera's image sensor into one "super pixel" for improved low-light capture. With the iPhone 16 Pro models, this technology is expected to expand to the Ultra Wide lens, which is currently a 12-megapixel lens.
This also means that iPhone 16 Pro models should be able to shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos in Ultra Wide mode. These photos retain more detail in the image file for more editing flexibility, and can be printed at large sizes.
Timing
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 16 lineup in September 2024, so the devices are still over a year away from launching. Early rumors should always be treated with more skepticism, as Apple's plans could change over time.
It's also worth nothing that Wi-Fi 7 might not be finalized until late 2024, so there is a chance that the standard will not be ready in time for the iPhone 16 Pro.
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No crystal ball needed…