Apple’s next smartphone won’t be released until fall, but rumors about the new phone are growing.
According to the latest leaked images, the tech giant is making a radical change to the camera lenses on the back of the upcoming phone.
The standard version of the iPhone 16 will have two camera lenses arranged vertically, not diagonally like the iPhone 15, the images reveal.
Although Apple hasn’t confirmed it, the design change may have something to do with the company’s new $3,500 Vision Pro headphones.
Apple is also said to be preparing its first foldable phones, although they may not arrive this year.
An Apple tipster claims that the lenses of the iPhone 16’s rear camera module are arranged vertically, not diagonally like on the current iPhone 15.
In the photo, the iPhone 15 presented by Apple in September 2023. Note the diagonal position of the two camera lenses in the rear module.
The images were posted on X (Twitter) by Apple tipster Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial), who regularly shares news about the tech giant’s products.
“This appears to be the new iPhone 16 camera module, as you can see, the vertical position is confirmed,” Bu said.
When asked if the distance between the two lenses is “really that small,” the expert replied: “I can’t say anything for sure.”
Starting with the iPhone 13 in 2021, the two lenses of the rear camera module on standard iPhone models are oriented diagonally.
When Apple introduced the design change almost three years ago, many fans assumed it was to give more room for larger internal components.
Others speculated that it was simply an aesthetic change and a marketing ploy to get people to spend money on the iPhone 13.
Of course, for years the Pro and Pro Max versions of the iPhone have had three camera lenses lined up in an “arrow” shape, two on the left and one on the right.
But since 2013 the standard versions (the cheapest) have two lenses facing diagonally.
Starting with the iPhone 13 in 2021, the two lenses of the rear camera model on standard iPhone models are oriented diagonally. In the photo, customers with iPhone 13 in Beijing, China, September 24, 2021.
The Pro and Pro Max versions of the iPhone have long had three camera lenses aligned in an “arrow” shape, two on the left and one on the right (pictured). But since 2021, standard iPhone versions have two lenses facing diagonally.
It’s unclear why Apple would return to a vertical lens lineup, although it could have to do with the new Vision Pro headphones.
The iPhone 16 is expected to be tightly integrated with the new rugged wearable device, which presents applications in front of the user’s eyes.
According BGRApple wants all of its iPhones to record ‘space videos’ that can be played back on the Vision Pro, but this requires a vertical camera setup.
MailOnline has contacted the tech giant for comment.
Like last year’s iPhone 15, the iPhone 16 is expected to launch in four different versions: iPhone 16 (the standard model), iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
According MacRumorsThe screen size of the two Pro models, the two most expensive options, will be larger compared to the iPhone 15 equivalents.
The screen size on the Pro model will increase from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, while the Pro Max screen size will go from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches, it reports.
Meanwhile, the ‘Action Button’, the small button above the volume controls on the edge of the phone, is coming to all four iPhone 16 models, it adds.
Apple’s first mixed reality headset, Vision Pro (pictured), lets users choose apps with their eyes
On the iPhone 15, only the two Pro models got the action button, while the standard and Plus models kept the mute switch from previous years.
Apple is also rumored to introduce the “hole-punch” front camera, a feature typically found on Android phones.
It is also said to be working on a line of foldable phones, years after its closest rival Samsung first launched foldable phones.
The first foldable smartphone was the FlexPai from a Chinese company called Royole, first released in 2018.
Since then, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Google, Motorola and Vivo have launched foldable phones, but Apple has not.