While we wait for iPhone 15, here's the first iPhone 16 Ultra leak

Apple’s yet to announce the iPhone 15 series, but the top model in the iPhone 16 series, due to launch next year, has just leaked. It seems Apple is planning on tweaking the branding of its iPhone models in 2024. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is set to become this year’s most premium variant, but come next year, the “iPhone 16 Ultra” might take over as the top-of-the-line iPhone.

In an exclusive report, 9to5Mac suggests that the larger iPhone 16 Pro is a likely candidate to adopt the Ultra branding to align with the Apple Watch Ultra. It means this year might be the last time we see Apple use the Pro Max branding. Whatever the name may be, the more important leak here is that of the CAD renders of the upcoming phone.

The leak only delivers the display details of the so-called iPhone 16 Ultra. It seems Apple is making the screen significantly taller at 6.9 inches compared to the 6.7-inch display expected on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max. You can see the side-by-side comparison between the two phones in the image above. Apart from being taller, it seems the iPhone 16 Ultra will also be a bit wider than its counterpart this year.

The smaller iPhone 16 Pro model is also expected to grow to 6.3 inches. The current iPhone 14 Pro has a 6.1-inch display, and the iPhone 15 Pro is also expected to get the same. Analyst Ming-chi Kuo says that the larger display would allow Apple to fit a periscope zoom lens on the smaller iPhone 16 Pro model — something this year’s iPhone 15 Pro will likely not get.

While all this information comes from reliable sources, it’s still too early to tell what Apple will do next year. We usually don’t encounter new iPhone leaks until after September or October, after Apple already has refreshed models in the market. So it’s advisable to treat these leaks with skepticism.