Apple’s iPhone 16 is due for launch in September alongside the iPhone 16 Pro, with Apple likely taking the stage early in the month for its annual upgrade unveiling.
While we don’t expect the iPhone 16 to be a marked departure from the design of the iPhone 16, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t design changes coming to the handset. Indeed, the iPhone 16’s design could be one of the most exciting in years, with rumors of a new Capture button, thinner bezels, and even some new Pro sizes.
So what exactly is changing with the iPhone 16, and what’s staying the same? Here are all the new updates and tweaks we expect to the design of both iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro later this year.
iPhone 16
Vertical camera lenses
Rumors indicate Apple has tweaked the camera lens configuration of the iPhone 16, aligning the two lenses vertically rather than diagonally. This small change should allow the iPhone 16 to shoot spatial video for Apple Vision Pro.
Tweaked camera island
The vertical alignment should allow for a much narrow camera island that’s more of an oblong rather than a square. There are also indications the flash for the iPhone 16 will be housed in the rear of the device itself, rather than the elevated camera housing.
Action button
The iPhone 16 is expected to inherit the Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra. Apple introduced the feature with Apple’s best iPhone in September. It allows users to trigger a range of functions such as Translation, Voice Notes, and even Shortcuts, meaning the possibilities for its use are almost endless.
Capture button
The iPhone 16 is also expected to feature a new Capture button. This will purportedly be a dedicated camera button dedicated to shooting photos and videos. It should be located below your iPhone’s lock button on the right-hand side, and it could even feature pressure sensitivity for autofocus, like you’d find in a DSLR camera.
iPhone 16 Pro
New sizes
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to be larger than the current Pro lineup. Specifically, they should increase from 6.1 and 6.7 inches to 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively.
Capture button
The iPhone 16 Pro will retain last year’s Action button, so no change there, but it’s also expected to get the new Capture button mentioned above. Your iPhone 16 Pro could feature a dedicated shutter for photos and videos, replete with a DSLR-esque pressure sensitivity for autofocus.
Capacitive buttons
Some buttons on the iPhone 16 Pro could be capacitive rather than mechanical, with Apple using vibration motors powered by the iPhone’s Taptic Engines to simulate the satisfying click of a mechanical button, however, we don’t know which inputs are candidates for the swap. It’s likely the Volume and Power buttons though, if we had to guess.
Thinner bezels
The iPhone 16 Pro is expected to employ Border Reduction Structure technology. BRS should enable thinner iPhone bezels compared to the already-discreet iPhone 15 Pro.
Reduced Dynamic Island?
This last one is definitely a stretch, but there are sporadic rumors that Apple could reduce the size of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 16 Pro to a small hole punch notch. There’s a possibility that this is actually a change coming to iPhone 17, however.
