All the iPhone 16 ‘rumors’ that turned out to be untrue

The iPhone rumor mill never slows, with a constant flow of rumors about the next iPhone. We’re already hearing about the iPhone 17, and the iPhone 16 was only announced earlier this week! 

However, not every iPhone rumor is true, and there were plenty of outlandish rumors about the iPhone 16 collection that turned out to be false. Here are a few of the most popular rumors about the new iPhone 16 collection that turned out to be… well, complete and utter rubbish. 

The new top-end iPhone 16 Ultra

The iPhone ‘Ultra’ model has been rumored for the past few years, following comments from Apple analyst Mark Gurman in 2022 that Apple would release an Ultra iPhone to emulate the Apple Watch Ultra “in the next couple of years”. 

Then, in 2023, Gurman claimed that Apple was “working towards an even higher-end Ultra model for as early as 2024 in addition to adding more exclusive features to the Pro Max”. 

However, with supposed iPhone 16 Ultra rumors including much slimmer bezels and a larger 6.9-inch screen, it’s now clear that these were referring instead to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. 

Whether there is an Ultra-level iPhone in the works at Apple Park remains unknown – maybe we’ll finally see the fabled phone with the iPhone 17 collection. 

Super telephoto camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the first iPhone to offer a boosted 5x telephoto camera, before it made its way to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max this year. 

However, rumors ahead of launch claimed that while the iPhone 16 Pro would get the 5x telephoto, the top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max would get a new ‘super telephoto periscope camera’ with dramatically increased zoom capabilities, possibly putting it on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The rumor came from Weibo account Digital Chat Station, with claims that the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s telephoto lens could offer a focal length of over 300mm. For context, the 5x telephoto lens translates to 77mm, so it’d be a massive increase if it was true. Sadly, it wasn’t. 

No more 128GB iPhone 16 Pro

There have been a few rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro’s storage, including a fairly recent prediction from analyst firm TrendForce that claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro would do away with the 128GB entry-level model, instead shipping with 256GB as standard as the Pro Max does.

That would bring the iPhone 16 Pro more in line with both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the flagship Android competition, with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra shipping with 256GB and the Honor Magic 6 Pro shipping with 512GB as standard. 

Besides, with the iPhone 16 Pro starting at £999/$999, it’d be nice to feel like you’re getting extra value when you’re already paying a premium for the device.

Up to 2TB of storage on iPhone 16 Pro models

As well as boosting the minimum storage from 128- to 256GB on the iPhone 16 Pro, both Pro-level iPhones were also rumored to offer a boosted 2TB storage option alongside the existing 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options.

The rumor came from South Korean site Naver, and was said to be down to Apple switching to higher-density Quad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND flash for higher storage models of iPhone 16 Pro, allowing Apple to fit more storage into a smaller space. It’s also said to be cheaper than the Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND that the iPhone 15 Pro models used.

It may seem like overkill, but when you consider the iPhone 16 Pro can record at 4K@120fps, mobile creatives might need that extra storage – especially if you’re not utilising iCloud for storage. 

New Polished Titanium finish

The iPhone 15 Pro range introduced the titanium finish for the first time, replacing the stainless steel frame that had been Apple’s go-to for quite some time – for its Pro-level iPhones, anyway. The titanium finish offered a different look and feel with its brushed finish, compared to the shiny stainless steel finish of older iPhones.

Well, one iPhone 16 Pro rumor suggested that Apple was working on a new polished titanium finish, down to an improved process for finishing and colouring titanium. It’s said that the improved process would result in a glossy appearance closer to the polished stainless steel frame of older iPhones with better scratch resistance. 

While Apple did introduce a new titanium finish, dubbed Desert Titanium, it – along with the rest of the iPhone 16 Pro colour options – offers the same brushed titanium frame as last year’s Pro iPhone collection.