Apple is said to be making a big change to the iPhone 16 camera, marking the first redesign of its kind since 2013.
Industry insiders shared photos of the upcoming smartphone, showing a sleeker, pill-shaped camera system capable of capturing 3D ‘space video’ for playback on Apple’s Vision Pro VR headset.
The change would be far from the present iPhone design featuring a clumsy diagonal camera design.
While Apple has yet to reveal any details about its upcoming smartphone, new leaks reveal an apparent dual-camera setup with one dedicated to wide and ultra-wide fields of view.
Apple is planning a sleeker, pill-shaped camera system for the new iPhone 16 capable of capturing 3D ‘space video’ for playback on Apple’s Vision Pro VR headset.
Tech industry insiders have revealed photos of iPhone 16 demo cases (above) and iPhone 16 schematics (below), which they said clearly show that the cluttered diagonal camera systems of the latest iPhone models are likely become a thing of the past
Alleged renders of two iPhone 16 Pro models, however, indicate that these devices are still likely to come with a triangular camera arrangement for even higher 3D quality.
Until now, only the iPhone 15 Pro had the ability to record the kind of strange and fully immersive 3D “space video” to be seen on the Vision Pro headset.
For months, industry experts have been reporting that Apple will make some major changes to the camera system for its upcoming iPhone 16.
A brand new button – which appeared on the side of new iPhone case prototypes – is reported to be a new ‘capture’ button for quicker camera calling from the device’s lock screen, for example.
And now, a report from Tom’s Guide has investigated the new pill alignment on the alleged entry-level iPhone 16 phones.
These vertically placed cameras on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus would be the first major switch in alignment since diagonally aligned lenses were first introduced with the debut of the iPhone 13 in September 2021.
The new scope, according to this report, will allow the phone to record footage from its main and ultra-wide cameras at the same time.
The synthesis of these two video sources will allow even the low-end iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to create video with a sense of depth that creates the illusion of watching a real-life scene unfold right before your eyes.
‘Maybe space video will be added’, a prolific Apple leaker who goes by May Bu on X, agreed. Bu posted schematics and prototypes of what was supposed to be the iPhone 16.
“Space video will definitely be added,” noted a prolific Apple insider who goes by Majin Buu in X, who posted schematics (above) and prototypes of what’s believed to be the iPhone 16.
But the two iPhone 16 Pro models will also have unique additions to enhance their capacity to produce immersive space video.
All models, from the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, will come with a new 48-megapixel ultra-wide angle, which is said to be better for recording space video.
But the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have a 5x telephoto lens and improved camera sensors that increase that capacity, which could help the device take more detailed space videos and possibly even space videos from a distance.
Majin Bu and other explorers have too reported that the new phone’s cameras will come with a redesigned anti-glare lens coating – applied in the precision “atomic layer deposition” (ALD) technique – that will improve the “long-standing ghosting problem” with the cameras iPhone.
‘Ghosting’ is a type of camera artifact, similar to a lens flare, in which secondary or double images appear faintly, most often on the opposite side of a bright light.
The phenomenon occurs when light bounces between the two surfaces of the camera lens and its sensor.
All models, from the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, will come with a new 48-megapixel ultra-wide angle, which is said to be better for recording space video. But the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will also have 5x telephoto lenses and improved camera sensors
The change would be a far cry from the current iPhone layout that features a clunky diagonal camera design
In early May, well-known Apple insider Sonny Dickson leaked photos of four alleged prototypes for the upcoming iPhone 16 models: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Posted on social media site X, Dickson’s photo was a confirmatory indication that at least the cheaper iPhone 16 models could feature this vertically placed, pill-shaped camera setup.
But the leak also revealed a big potential size difference, with the iPhone 16 Pro promised to be 6.3 inches long compared to the same model in 2022, which clocked in at 6.1 inches.
This big change in the higher models would be the first size update Apple has made since the iPhone 12 Pro which were 0.6 inches larger than the previous model.
However, experts point out that these ‘proof of concept’ iPhones may not be 100 percent accurate.
So the public will know for sure if these images are indeed accurate when Apple officially unveils its new iPhone lineup later this year.
The company holds several events throughout the year related to new products — such as its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held last June for third-party app makers and Apple fans — and has traditionally unveiled new models of iPhone in September.