Apple is holding a major event on Monday 9th September where it’s fully expected to launch the new iPhone 16 series. If rumours are to be believed, the California firm will unveil four new models called the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, as well as new Apple Watch devices and even two new versions of AirPods.

If this is accurate we are in for a bumper week of new Apple hardware, and according to various iPhone 16 leaks that have crept out over the past few weeks and months we think there are five big changes coming to Apple’s new phones that are worth knowing about.

It’s no secret that year-on-year smartphone upgrades are no longer huge leaps in technology like they arguably were a decade ago. New iPhones generally look like the ones that came a year before them, and thanks to Apple’s long software support, many features launched on the iPhone 16 could be available with iOS 18 on older phones.

With a pinch of salt and an eye on the rumour mill, here are the five changes coming to the iPhone 16 – four we are pretty certain of and the fifth is one we are keeping our fingers crossed won’t actually happen.

2023’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were the first iPhones ever to not have the physical Ring/Silent switch, replacing it with the new Action Button. This regular button can be assigned to one of many different actions, from mute to turning the torch on and off, launching a selected app or performing a user-created action via the Shortcuts app.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus didn’t have it, but it’s thought every new iPhone 16 model will have an Action Button, marking the end of the Ring/Silent switch. It’ll mean no new iPhone has a moving part, which means there’s one less thing to break over time, and the button performs the exact same traditional muting action if you want it to.

Much more surprising is the rumour that every new iPhone 16 will also have a brand new additional button called the Capture Button. Supposedly this will sit on the right edge of the phones below the power button, this new clicker is said to be capacitive, which means it’s touch sensitive and not a moving part.

The main function will be to act as a camera shutter button, with a two-stage action to focus, just like on a DSLR. If you wanted any more sign that Apple doesn’t want you to won an actual camera, this is it.

It’s also thought the button could be swipeable to zoom in on scenes, which leaves open the possibility it could perform other actions in iOS. But it’s a big change for Apple to choose to include a permanent hardware button that is primarily for only one thing, particularly if it’s at the same time as removing the Ring/Silent switch.

Rumours suggest the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will have similar designs to the 15 Pro phones, with triple cameras and matt glass finishes in muted colours. But leaks of the regular iPhone 16 and 16 Plus show a changed camera design that’ll make them stand out on store shelves.

While the iPhone 13, 14 and 15 have diagonally placed dual lenses on the back, it seems as though the iPhone will have two vertically stacked sensors. This will return the base iPhone to the look of the cameras on the iPhone X from 2017, as the leaked images show the cameras in a pill shaped module. The iPhone 11 and 12 also had vertical dual lenses but in a larger square camera bump.

Apple usually makes a design change from year to year to encourage upgrades and so that people will see you have bought the flashiest new iPhone. But it’s also a possibility that Apple has made this move so the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus can record Spatial Video, the depth-supported video format you can view on the company’s Vision Pro headset.

Spatial Video requires the main and ultrawide cameras of the iPhone to be vertically aligned, which could have driven the move to what otherwise looks like a design from seven years ago.

Of course, the other way to show you have a new iPhone is by getting the new colour. The below leak shows Apple could go back to bold colour choices on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus with white, black, blue, green and pink options that are much starker than the pale pastels of the iPhone 15:

Meanwhile it seems the company could be less inventive with the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, potentially dropping the current blue Pro for a bronze model that has allegedly leaked:

It’s true that most people will probably slap their shiny new iPhone 16 straight in a case that hides the colour, but it’ll be good to see these changes nevertheless.

We’re still holding out for a lovely bright red iPhone 16 Pro, but given Apple never gives its Pro phones bold colours and the fact that, for the first time in years, there was no Product Red iPhone 15, that dream could be on permanent hold.

This final one is a big change that we don’t want and there are very few solid rumours on, but it’s a probable eventuality. In 2022, Apple launched the iPhone 14 series and in the US, the phones did not have SIM card slots. The same applied in the States for the iPhone 15, but so far the rest of the world has escaped this huge iPhone change.

Apple could take away the SIM card slot for iPhones released in the UK, and it’s possible it’ll happen next week with the iPhone 16.

iPhones with no SIM card slots connect to your mobile network using eSIM technology, where you can assign a SIM to your phone when you set up your phone or later in the Settings menu. It works functionally the same but is much more confusing for consumers as you can’t move the physical SIM card from your old phone to your new one like you have probably always done.

Instead, you need to contact your network provider and get them to port your number to eSIM for your device. It also makes changing providers more difficult, and could put you off seeking a better deal.

We will find out on Monday 9th September if the iPhone 16 series keeps its SIM card tray in the UK, as well as if the four other more likely rumours were accurate. You can read all about the latest iPhone 16 rumours in our rumour round-up article.