With the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro now edging closer to being replaced at the very top of Apple's lineup, attention is very much starting to turn to their replacements. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro will most likely debut this fall, probably in September. And we're seeing more and more leaks by the day.
The latest leak comes in the form of a few CAD images that appear to depict the cases that will be sold for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. From these case designs, we can see all but confirmation that previous handset rumors have been correct, with some much-rumored changes in effect.
Those changes, an all-new Capture button and the redesign of the non-Pro iPhones' camera bump are clearly visible. Those changes have already been heavily rumored, and it would be a big surprise if they didn't appear when the new handsets arrive later in the year.
Capture, Action
The images come courtesy of the X leaker Majin Bu and one of the first things that you'll notice is the space where the Capture button will live. It's below the power button on the right side of the iPhone, right where owners of US-based iPhones would normally find the mmWave antenna. That'll be moved on the new iPhones to make space, of course.
It isn't yet entirely clear what the new Capture button will do, but rumors suggest that we can expect it to be used in tandem with the iPhone's Camera app. The button could essentially be a physical shutter button for photographers and videographers, and it's rumored to have pressure sensitivity to boot.
The second thing that people will notice is the size and shape of the camera area of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. It's a vertical pill-like shape, similar to that of the iPhone XS. That means that the diagonal arrangement of the iPhone 15's cameras is gone, and the reason is clear — the Apple Vision Pro.
iPhone 16 Case Design pic.twitter.com/JFBd450tc5April 26, 2024
The Apple Vision Pro is capable of displaying spatial videos, and while it can also capture those videos the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also part of that exclusive club. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are not, thanks to that diagonal camera arrangement. The cameras need to be in a vertical arrangement so that, when the iPhone is turned into landscape orientation, the cameras are side-by-side. That's required for the stereoscopic capture that makes spatial videos work, hence the change on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
If Apple sticks to its familiar release pattern we can expect the company to announce the new iPhones in the first part of September before making the new devices available for preorder a few days later. After that, the new iPhones will then likely go on sale a week or so later.
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