Macrumors' latest article revealed a series of new designs for Apple's iPhone 16 standard model, but it's important to note that these designs are still in their early stages, dubbed "delorean" by Apple engineers, and the final retail version may vary.
It is understood that Apple has developed a number of iPhone 16 prototype designs internally. Among them, a yellow prototype is equipped with operation buttons, the volume buttons have a coherent design, and the back has a camera island design similar to that of the iPhone X. The other pink prototype had separate mechanical volume buttons, while the black prototype had larger action buttons and a dedicated photo button.
The design of the camera island has also been tweaked several times, and Apple has tested different options, including a vertically oriented design, to enhance the device's recognizability. The report also pointed out that Apple is trying two different camera bump schemes, one is a square camera island similar to the iPhone 12, but the camera is designed vertically, and the other is a pill-shaped form factor, similar to the iPhone X. However, the flash position of both designs is the same as that of the iPhone 15, and it seems that Apple has no plans to change the position of the flash.
It was previously reported that Apple has an internal project called "Project Bongo", which aims to redesign the volume and power buttons to bring a new interactive experience. This project changed the volume and power buttons from traditional mechanical buttons to tactile buttons, which detected pressure and used a haptic engine to simulate the pressing of physical buttons. This button is equipped with a bending sensor underneath that measures the pressure applied to the button, accurately measures the change in pressure through the change in resistance, and then generates haptic feedback by generating vibrations through electromagnetic fields, mimicking the pressing sensation of a physical button. However, due to technical problems, this project has been canceled, so the iPhone 16 will still come with mechanical buttons.
The iPhone 16 will also feature action buttons, eliminating the mute paddles, and plans to change the action buttons from mechanical to capacitive buttons. In addition, Apple plans to add a new capacitive photo button on the right side of the iPhone 16, codenamed "Project Nova", which will have a force sensor in addition to the "touch switch" function.
Regarding the front design of the iPhone 16, there are no noticeable changes, the Dynamic Island will continue to be used, and it is expected that the base model will maintain a similar display to its predecessor, with a USB-C port still on the bottom. In terms of color, the early prototype was available in three colors: yellow, pink, and midnight.
Overall, the iPhone 16 hasn't changed much in terms of appearance, with major updates including a vertical camera arrangement, a design similar to that of the iPhone 12, and the introduction of new capacitive camera and action buttons. However, as it is still in its early stages, the final design may be different.