Why, it was about a week and a half ago when we told you that the latest iPhone 16 prototype included a rear camera array that looked very similar to the one used on the back of 2017’s iPhone X. If you recall, that design includes a thin camera island that ran vertically down the upper left corner of the rear panel and contained two vertically mounted cameras separated by the flash. As is its wont, Apple continued the design for the iPhone XS series before widening the island for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 lines.
Since the iPhone 13 non-Pro models, Apple has placed the rear cameras in a box on the upper left corner of the rear panel but offset the lenses diagonally to make it look like a number two domino. However, there is speculation that Apple will return to the design used on the iPhone X (with a slightly different placement for the flash) because of the Vision Pro. As you might know, photos and videos shot on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can be viewed in 3D on Apple’s spatial computer.
This would appear to be the new camera module of the iPhone 16, as you can see the vertical positioning is confirmed pic.twitter.com/JWF5olGwQ4
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) February 16, 2024
Part of the reason why 3D images for the Vision Pro can’t be taken with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus is because the two rear-facing cameras don’t line up. By reverting to the iPhone X rear camera design, Apple will have the two cameras aligned perfectly to shoot what it calls spatial photos and videos which are 3D, immersive, and allow the user to feel that he/she is experiencing a photographed or recorded scene all over again (especially the videos).
A tweet from leaker Majin Bu (via MacRumors) claims to show images of the iPhone 16‘s new camera module and it does dovetail with the previous rumors stating that the two cameras will be aligned vertically. Bu’s photos show the module upside down, but that doesn’t take away from the legitimacy of the photographed component which was authenticated by MacRumors thanks to the latter’s industry sources. These sources confirmed that the part in the photos is the chassis for the I-34 camera project expected to be used in the iPhone 16 model expected to be released this September.
We expect the iPhone 16 Pro models to keep the current layout that has been employed on the iPhone Pro devices since the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. That design already has two cameras aligned vertically explaining why those with an iPhone 15 Pro series unit can shoot spatial photos and videos and why there should be no change in the the look of the rear camera for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
