New iPhone 16 case leak shows rumored camera redesign with the Apple Vision Pro in mind

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A new camera setup is coming.

iPhone 15 Pro on a fabric surface with USB-C flash drive
(Image credit: Future)

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus devices later this year to replace the current iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, and we've been hearing rumors about those new handsets for a few months now. One of those rumors is that Apple plans to redesign the camera layout for the new models and now newly leaked cases appear to confirm exactly that.

Apple has long been rumored to have plans to ditch the diagonal camera arrangement on a square plateau of the iPhone 15 family of devices in favor of a vertical arrangement that will be more akin to that of the iPhone XS. The cases that have appeared in this leak show that new design, with the cases arguably easy to mistake for iPhone XS accessories thanks to the familiar layout.

Alongside the elongated pill shape that will expose the iPhone 16's two cameras, we also see what appears to be a cutout for an LED flash, too.

Apple Vision Pro-inspired

The claimed iPhone 16 cases were shared on the X social network by leaker Sonny Dickson (seen below) and are clear with a black bumper section.

The vertical camera arrangement is thought to be designed to allow iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus owners to capture spatial video content that can then be viewed back on the Apple Vision Pro. Currently, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can record the 3D videos for viewing on Apple's spatial computer and it's thought that Apple intends to bring that same feature down the lineup to the non-pro models next time out.

If Apple follows its expected release pattern the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models will be unveiled alongside the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models this September.

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Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.