Leaked iPhone 16 prototypes show what Apple’s next phone might look like

The iPhone 15 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

With the iPhone 16 probably not launching until September 2024, it’s entirely possible that Apple hasn’t finalized the design yet, but a new leak shows three different designs that the company has apparently been considering.

MacRumors has acquired information on early pre-production designs for the iPhone 16, and has created renders based on that information, some of which you can see below.

Of these, it’s the design shown in black that’s apparently most likely to launch, complete with an iPhone 12-style vertical camera arrangement, a large Action button (bigger than the one on the iPhone 15 Pro), and a new button known as a ‘Capture button’.

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A render of three iPhone 16 prototypes — (Image credit: MacRumors)

Both of these buttons are said to be capacitive, meaning they would vibrate when pressed rather than physically moving. We’ve previously heard rumors that the iPhone 16 would have this design, so it certainly sounds the most likely at the moment.

However, the other two designs are interesting as well, as MacRumors doesn’t rule them out as possibilities for the final phone.

The pink model has a similar camera arrangement, but its Action button is smaller and there’s no Capture button, while the yellow model has an iPhone X-style camera design, with a pill-shaped enclosure.

This model also has a small Action button and no Capture button, and it includes a unified volume button that would provide haptic feedback, rather than two distinct mechanical buttons.

From the front, all three prototypes look much the same, as well as looking the same as the iPhone 15, with a flat screen and a Dynamic Island.

The colors shown are also apparently the ones that Apple has been prototyping, so there’s a fair chance that some or all of these shades will be offered on the final phones.

Of course, with the iPhone 16 still being almost a year from launch, anything could change, so it’s possible that none of these prototypes or shades will be reflected on the final phone.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.