Over the last few years of iPhone design, it seems Apple has liked to move in cycles. Back in 2020 the company unveiled the flat-edged iPhone 12, which echoed the iPhones 4 and 5, then things went full circle with last year's more rounded iPhone 15. And if new leaks are anything to go by, Apple is set to take a leaf out of its own history books again.
Leaked schematics (below) suggest the iPhone 16 will adopt a vertical camera layout, doing away with the diagonal design we've seen since 2021. And with a slimmer cutout, the whole thing looks strongly reminiscent of 2017's iPhone X. (In the market for new gear? Check out the best iPhone 15 deals available now.)
We've already heard that Apple is prototyping three different designs for the iPhone 16, but it seems the company has settled on a version with a slim camera layout. The pill-shaped cutout depicted in new renders looks just like that of the iPhone X (back when Apple's 'Pro' phones had two lenses instead of three), and with those rounded edges, it could truly resemble the 2017 device.
These are the expected designs of the iPhone 16 lineup so far While the base iPhone 16 could feature a new camera design, no major design changes are expected for the iPhone 16 Pro models other than larger displays pic.twitter.com/2He0Ikh78tFebruary 7, 2024
Elsewhere, the leaked design suggests the Action Button, currently limited to the iPhone 15 Pro, will be making its way to the entire iPhone 16 line up, along with the addition of a new 'Capture' button, dedicated to shooting video.
Time will tell exactly what's in store for the iPhone line up in 2024 – for every leak in one place, check out our roundup of iPhone 16 rumours. And in the meantime, we're still trying to get used to seeing Vision Pro in public.
