Latest iPhone 16 leak reveals updated camera, new buttons

Updated June 23rd with new details on case and charger: article originally published June 22nd.

New iPhone 16 leaks have suggested several upgrades, including support for visionOS tools, the arrival of a popular iPhone Pro feature, and the addition of a user interface. Now, a set of iPhone 16 cases supports these designs.

A closer look at the iPhone 16 cases has been published by the team at TechNetBook, and you can see how the updated features have affected the exterior design.

First up is the orientation of the camera lens. these have changed from the iPhone 15’s diagonal arrangement on a square camera island to a vertical arrangement on a more diamond-shaped island. This shouldn’t affect normal pictures and videos taken on the iPhone, but the lens arrangement will allow the lenses to be used side-by-side when recording in landscape mode – which is the orientation you’d need to take stereoscopic videos that would allow for 3D playback. on the Apple Vision Pro headset.

Then you have the button area covered for the action button. This programmable physical button debuted on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Max. It allows users to assign a shortcut or action when a button is pressed, such as when the camera app opens, to quickly take a picture. The button was not available on the vanilla iPhone 15 or 15 Plus.

Action Button will now be a universal offering and will appear on vanilla iPhone 16 models alongside iPhone 16 Pro models.

You finally have a new button. Apple will likely add a camera button based on the positive feedback from the iPhone 15 Pro. The case shows a full cut-out for the button, which makes sense as the button is expected to be pressure-sensitive and allow for multi-step presses (allowing, for example, to choose to lock focus with a “half-press” before taking a picture with a full press).

Update: Sunday, June 22: Well-known tipster Ice Universe posted a look at another iPhone 16 case this weekend. Their video shows the case rotating to reveal the back and edges of the case. As seen in the TechNetBook images, the vertical arrangement of the camera lens, the push-button for the action button, and the space for the capacitive camera button can be seen.

The cases add to the discussion of another feature, namely Apple’s inductive charging system. The space for the MagSafe ring is clearly visible, but the charging ring is also thinner than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro launched in 2023. While the two different widths of the ring will offer interconnection, the newer iPhone 16 family will come with a thinner and lighter variant.

These three features bring the vanilla iPhones in line with the Pro models. As Apple tries to put clear water between the vanilla and Pro models in terms of specifications, there will have to be several upgrades to the Pro models to restore the gap and make consumers want to buy the more expensive model.

One suggestion is that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will update their own camera hardware, with the ultra-wide camera quadrupling the sensor size from 12 to 48 megapixels, a new optical coating to reduce lens flare, and greater optical zoom available on the 16 Pro Max via a larger telephoto lens periscope style.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 16 family in early September 2024.

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