Updated August 24 with more information on another big design change: the new cameras expected on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16.
When Apple unveils the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max this fall, and you can read about exactly when that will be here, the handsets will come in new colors. One of them will be entirely different from the current iPhone 15 Pro range. It's not the only change drawing attention, with a new report of design changes coming to the cameras also front-and center.
Part of the new camera capabilities is the much haunted additional hardware button designed for shooting video and photos, discussed more below. “One such addition is the introduction of an all-new Capture button, which is expected to debut across the entire iPhone 16 range. Apple has tested this button on both the base model iPhone 16 as well as the larger iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max,” AppleInsider says.
ForbesApple iPhone 16 Release Date: New Report Hones In On Precise DateBy David Phelan
Note that this report says all iPhone 16 models will have it, something that in earlier predictions was not certain, with commentators like Mark Gurman at Bloomberg saying it may be restricted only to the Pro models.
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It requires something of a design change, especially for iPhones for the US market, which has mmWave connectivity, for the fastest 5G That’s because the new button will sit exactly where the mmWave panel previously was. This will now swap to the other side of the phone.
“Design-wise, the Capture button is unique in the fact that it's flush with the frame. It does not stick out the same way the power or volume buttons do,” the report says, indicating unsurprisingly that Apple is wanting to keep the phone as slick and attractive as ever.
And while the obvious functions are to snap a photo or begin a video, it’s not limited to these capabilities.
It will also be pressure-sensitive, it’s claimed. apparently it will include something called “force-sensing technology," meaning that it will be able to recognize different degrees of pressure applied. It’s thought that this will mean a light touch will set the focus for an image, while a heavy press will take the shot.
because it is a wide button, it’s also thought that by sliding your finger right or left along it, it will offer a neat new way to zoom in and out of your shot, as well.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will stick with two cameras, according to a separate and extensive report at Apple Insider which covers many aspects of what’s coming.
The main 48-megapixel camera will be unchanged and the 12-megapixel ultra wide snapper will have a faster aperture, up from f/2.4 to the wider f/2.2. It’s also thought there were will be macro capability on the regular iPhones, too.
But the bigger changes will come in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. As reported elsewhere, the 5x zoom equivalent on the telephoto will be on both sizes of Pro (it’s currently an iPhone 15 Pro Max exclusive, for space reasons, I’m told). The main camera will remain the same as it is on the current Pro models, with 48-megapixel resolution.
The most striking news is the arrival of a second 48-megapixel sensor. The ultra wide camera on the Pro and Pro Max will switch to this and offer the same capability as the main camera, that is, the ability to shoot at full resolution as well as combining adjacent pixel sites to create better 12-megapixel images.
Alongside all these updates is the widely predicted Capture Button mentioned above. which the report says is coming to all iPhone 16 models. One other benefit of it being a capacitive button: it can’t be triggered accidentally in your pocket.
Back to the new shades the Pro iPhones will be modeling. The four colors in the range have been described by regular leaker Majin Bu who has recently been caught up in a controversy having posted a supposed invite to the event when the iPhone will be announced. The invite was fake (as I talked about here) and Majin Bu quickly set the record straight.
They are on more solid ground here, I suspect, when saying the colors will be will be white, black, gold and gray, but Apple won’t call them that. Majin Bu posted on the topic on X. The current Pro model colors are named Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium and Black Titanium. The most eagle-eyed will have spotted that Apple is keen on promoting the fact that the iPhone 15 Pro has titanium in its build.
The new range seems similar, with gray likely to be a new version of Natural Titanium. And the gold? According to the leak, it’s going to be called Desert Titanium. Majin Bu says, in a separate post, “The desert titanium color is kind of dark gold, similar to the old purple color, relatively discreet and deep.”
Deep Purple was a color in the iPhone 14 Pro range and was indeed dark enough to be discreet. The new color is thought to be a warmish brown color, though the real thing could be different. Predictions of the exact shades that Apple will use are rarely absolutely spot-on.
But the name, if it proves correct, gives us a clue and it suggests something light and gaudier than the rest of the range.
This fits with a series of other rumors and dummy versions of the iPhone 16 Pro series released recently. As always, just because several commentators predict the same details doesn’t make it true, though weight of numbers sometimes adds to likelihood.
The new report also chimes with others which say that the blue iPhone in the current Pro range will be dropped, to be replaced with the new color.
Majin Bu has more recently posted again, with an image of what could be the new color, saying, “This image could resemble the new Desert Titanium iPhone 16 Pro, what do you think?” They also slightly hedged their bets by going on, “The image is based on rumors, it is not certain that the official coloring will reflect this 100%.”
One other detail, in the earlier post, Majin Bu showed camera rings for the iPhone 16 Pro in the four colors. The rings looks shiny, perhaps indicating the brushed-finish titanium of the 15 Pro series could be replaced with something more polished.
By this time next month, the iPhones will be on sale, so we’ll know more soon.
ForbesApple iPhone 16 Pro: Everything We Know So FarBy David Phelan
