A fresh rumour – there’s always a fresh rumour in the iPhone world – suggests that Apple might shift its cameras lenses to vertical in order to accommodate Spatial Video on the non-Pro models.
It’s never too early for the iPhone 16 rumours to start circulating, even though the iPhone 15 launch announcements really weren’t that long ago at all.
Today’s rumour is via MacRumors, where they’re claiming to have fresh information on iPhone 16 prototypes that further push the idea that they’ll incorporate the excellent Action Button across all models, as well as a vertical orientation for the dual camera lenses on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
As per the rumours, Apple’s still prototyping with one option being a straight up-down two-lens arrangement, similar to the way the iPhone 12 had its cameras. The other option would be a pill-shaped camera enclosure, a la the iPhone X.
Why vertical camera lenses? It’s possible it’s to enable Spatial Video, something that’s only currently possible on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models, which would line up with when we’re expecting to see the pricey Apple Vision Pro make its debut.
At the sides, it would appear that Apple’s still toying not so much with the existence of the Action Button on the cheaper iPhone models, but its precise placement and sizing, as well as the sizing and style for the volume buttons. While only Tim Cook knows for sure – and maybe he hasn’t decided – the designs suggest that Apple’s either looking at a rocker style design for volume, or separated buttons.
On the other side of the iPhone 16, as per the rumours, there may also be an additional button as well, tipped to be a “capture” button, presumably for fast or modified camera access. It’s sitting where the mmWave antenna exists on US models, so that antenna shifts sides, though we may not see that arrangement in the iPhone 16 models sold in Australia, as Apple hasn’t historically been interested in offering Australians mmWave capable 5G phones.