Latest Apple leak offers best look at iPhone 16’s vertical camera stack

Google kicked off the week by unveiling the Pixel 9, which means we can now start speculating again about what's next for the iPhone. A number of alleged iPhone 16 dummy devices are circulating on social media, offering the best look yet at what Apple is expected to launch next month. There are also some videos of the new iPhone 16 color variants.

According to Reddit, a Weibo user posted alleged photos of mockups that are supposedly the iPhone 16. They seem to match what the gossip sites have been picking up over the past year. The iPhone 16 represented by the render models shows a dual vertically stacked camera system instead of the rear-facing stove design it has had for the past five generations. The dual stack will also help the iPhone 16 more easily record spatial videos for playback on the Apple Vision Pro.

Comments on Reddit and Weibo seem divided. On Weibo, one user notes that the back of the dummy iPhone 16 looks “too much like the Nothing Phone.” On Reddit, one of the top comments comes from a user who claims that the dummy iPhone 16 looks “like an updated iPhone X.” The iPhone X was the last time Apple used the stacked aesthetic. The iPhone 11 was the debut of the stovetop design.

Android Authority points out an interesting design decision by Apple. The LED flash on the rear camera module hangs off to the side, outside the space that encloses the two camera lenses. It will be interesting to see how Apple explains this as part of the design explanation of its keynote presentation.

There is also a video doing the rounds showing the iPhone 16 dummy units in different color variants. The reveal comes from a YouTube video by ZolloTech, which claims to have access to models in all five colors. These include blue, teal, pink, black, and white with brushed matte backs. The models also appear to confirm Apple's switch from the volume switch to an action button.

Nothing is certain, in life or iPhone leaks, unless it comes out of Tim Cook's mouth at an Apple presentation. We expect Apple to have more to say in September, when it opens its Cupertino campus to journalists and analysts to preview iPhone hardware.