The iPhone 16 could feature a redesigned camera set up with a return to the twin vertical cameras of the iPhone 12. This is likely due to the rumoured introduction of Spatial Video to all phones in the iPhone 16 range.
Of course, camera performance is more important than how the setup looks on the back of your phone, but any change to the camera array is often a sign of serious changes. That could be the case with the iPhone 16.
The diagonal alignment of shooters on the back of the standard iPhone has been identical since the iPhone 13, but a mould spotted supposedly of the iPhone 16 suggests this will no longer be the case. The leaked images from tipster Majin Bu instead suggest a return to the vertical setup seen on the iPhone 12 and earlier.
Of course, this could merely be an experiment by Apple or an abandoned prototype, but why would they possibly switch back to the old design? Well, the answer might lie with the company's newest product, the Apple Vision Pro.
The revolutionary headset may cost $3499 but this redesign could be an attempt to bring the ability to capture spatial images and video to more than just the Pro and Pro Max models. As it stands the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the only iPhones capable of capturing the added depth (although you can only view it on the headset), but it would be a nice boost if it came to the rest of the range.
iPhone 16 molds and mockups pic.twitter.com/jG5CV8u7g9February 18, 2024
It makes more sense too when you realise that spatial video can only be captured horizontally. Turning the phone sideways with this new camera arrangement arranges the lenses horizontally too and has some wondering whether there will be a new camera button on the side of the phone to match.
The standard iPhone 15 received a significant camera boost from the iPhone 14, so it would be odd to see Apple throw away that hard work. It went from a 12MP main camera to a 48MP one, no small leap, so hopefully this alteration is just for the spatial video change and we don't see any backward steps. In a perfect world, we'd love the iPhone 16 to feature the tetraprism lens of the iPhone 15 Pro Max that gives it such impressive optical zoom, but that might be a big ask.
