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The iPhone 16 Pro screen could get bigger.

Since the display is the most important part of the smartphone, rumors accumulate around every next minute change. Despite Apple’s generally slow pace for year-over-year upgrades, there have been rumors of very small fixes so far.

Displays were relatively untouched for the iPhone 15 lineup. That means the iPhone 16 lineup could see significant display upgrades, especially with the 13-inch iPad Pro running a tandem OLED display.

Given the general volume of rumors, many focused on the display. This may be a result of the importance of the component, the easy leakage of information from that sector, or a combination of the two.

Here’s a roundup of what leaks and analysts think will arrive with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro.

Size is a big factor for displays on a mobile device, and it’s the same for the iPhone 16. This time, they’re set to be bigger and better.

Rumors began in May 2023, ahead of the iPhone 15 launch, indicating that a size increase was on the way. Analyst Ross Young said the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have screens measuring 6.2 inches and 6.8 inches, respectively, with those numbers rounded down.

This would in theory be a small increase over the existing 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max models.

Renders of what could be the iPhone 16 Pro

One of the claims for the screen size change is apparently to help the Pro and Pro Max variants fit a periscope lens. Adding a large side lens set would require some internal design changes, especially in terms of space.

Another report from later that month claimed that the Pro models would increase in size by “several tens of inches diagonally.” Other leaks that month suggested sizes up to 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches.

At the end of September, after the presentation of the iPhone 15, rumors appeared again, claiming that the iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.27-inch screen and a 6.85-inch version for the Pro Max.

To go with the larger screens, Apple could thin out the bezels a bit to keep the overall size of the iPhone from increasing too much. But this may cause some production problems.

In April, Elec reported that supply chain members had a problem with the frames shrinking more, causing problems with yields.

The reduced bezel could allow the iPhone 16 Pro’s screen to be larger without increasing the overall size of the device.

A month before, there were claims that the ultra-slim bezels would use Border Reduction Structure (BRS) technology. However, there was a problem applying it to the bottom edge.

The heat dissipation issues were supposedly improving, but it was still a challenge for vendors to get right.

There have been several leaks throughout the year suggesting that the displays in the iPhone 16 may be much brighter than previous versions.

A September 2023 leak insisted that Apple was looking at Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology. He had studied it before, but had not used it as a display.

The concept could increase the brightness of an OLED screen display by microlenses hitting light that ends up on the back panel instead of reflecting it forward.

Tandem OLED is already used by the 2024 iPad Pro models

One of the problems with the technology is that it does reduce the viewing angle of the screen, which Apple has had trouble accepting.

By May, another leak from Setsuna Digital on Weibo insisted that the Pro models would get a boost. The iPhone 16 Pro will have a typical peak brightness of 1200 nits and a peak HDR brightness of 1600 nits.

Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, this represents a 200 nit increase in typical maximum brightness and a continuation of the HDR brightness level.

At the same time, the source of information claims that Apple will not use the Tandem OLED structure introduced with the iPad Pro 2024. This system uses two OLED layers instead of one, increasing the overall brightness.

A thorn in the side of iPhone users over the years has been Apple’s display compromises to fit the TrueDepth camera array that allows Face ID to work. Apple has moved from the dreaded notch to the more beloved Dynamic Island, but may do away with it entirely in the future.

Already in February 2023. Elec said that the implementation of Face ID under the display could happen on the iPhone 16 Pro, allowing for a full-screen display. There were difficulties in placing a camera under the panel, working through the display specifically for Face ID.

The front and back of what could be the iPhone 16 Pro.

The biggest problem is that it works, but for camera modules with 4 million pixels, a far cry from what Apple needed to support its 12MP sensor.

The prediction of an under-display Face ID camera is much older than that. In April 2022, Ming-Chi Kuo responded to a tweet from Ross Young predicting a 2024 iPhone 16 release.

With just a few months until launch, Apple’s display makers are getting very close to starting mass production. Elec reported in May that Apple was preparing to approve its suppliers to start making screens.

Samsung Display was expected to receive approval by the end of May, LG Display by mid-June and BOE to follow.

LG and Samsung were expected to make displays in multiple models. The report adds that BOE makes displays other than the iPhone.