Your Best Look Yet At The New iPhone 16

Updated May 3: article originally posted May 1.

Although the next iPhone may not launch until September, we know enough about the smartphone to anticipate the changes and customizations Apple has planned.

Update: Friday May 3: The team at Shop System has access to the moulds used for the iPhone 16 family. Unsurprisingly, the moulds support the rear camera lens’ vertical orientation, but they also reveal a key detail about one of Apple’s key innovations. The MagSafe housing on the next iPhone models will be smaller than those on the iPhone 15 family.

The significant change is that the ring will be smaller, suggesting that Apple has streamlined the internal circuitry, potentially leading to a performance boost. This could mean the charging rates can be maintained over the two generations.

This leads naturally to the question of compatibility. I would expect Apple to have worked hard to ensure that peripherals designed for the larger iPhone 15 MagSafe system will still be compatible with the iPhone 16. MagSafe's power-charging capabilities use induction charging, so they do not require a physical connection, just proximity between the two charging points. Wirelessly communicating between MagSafe peripherals and the host iPhone using near-field communications, which again does not require a physical connection, just a close connection.

As the launch date approaches, more third-party peripherals will be designed and manufactured ahead of the launch; these should give us a clear indication of the compatibility question for new peripherals attached to the iPhone 15 and old peripherals attached to the iPhone 16.

Our latest look at the iPhone 16 come from digital artist Aaron Carpenter. They have built up this detailed look at the design, guided by the details and specifications gathered by Majin Bu.

The two new interface buttons for the iPhone 16 are clearly on show. Last year, the programmable Action Button was introduced on the two professional iPhone 15 models—the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max—but the vanilla iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models were not included. This year, that button will be available on all four models, and Carpenter shows how it fits into the design.

Apple is following up on the success of the Action Button with a second button. The Capture Button should bring a shutter button to the iPhone, presumably with a multi-stage button offering focus lock as well as taking a picture or starting a recording. You might miss it at first in the images because this is a capacitive rather than a physical button. It can sit flush to the side of the iPhone and respond to a touch without the need for any moving parts.

The camera's move to a vertical orientation allows for the recording of stereoscopic video, as long as you record in landscape. Apple’s system is branded Spatial Video, and while it will play back in 2D on the iPhone, the value here is in the Apple Vision Pro. The resulting videos create a more immersive memory for those who own the $3,500 headset.

Finally, from Carpenter is a look at the potential colors of the next iPhone. Seven are expected, with the usual black and white in the mix, joined by pastel shades of blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple.

Apple traditionally launches the new iPhones on the second Tuesday in September, which this year would be September 10th.

Now read more about Apple’s plans to introduce generative AI to the iPhone 16 family...