The iPhone 16 is still a way off, but we have been hearing a bunch of rumors about what the phone might involve when it launches later this year. The latest batch of rumors shed some light on how the camera experience could improve — in terms of camera components and the long-rumored Capture button.
Digital Chat Station claims to have learned new details about camera upgrades coming to the iPhone 16 Pro. It’s reported that the phone will feature an upgraded 48MP ultrawide angle camera lens, complete with a 1/2.6-inch sensor. This is a big improvement on the iPhone 15 Pro’s 12MP ultrawide lens, which has a 1/3.6-inch sensor.
This is said to arrive alongside an upgraded 48MP main lens, which will have a 1/1.14-inch sensor — up from 1/1.28-inches. That means the iPhone 16 Pro’s camera sensor is almost an inch in size, something that allows it to capture more light, include more details and improve the range of colors in the final photo.
Considering the iPhone 15 Pro is already one of the best camera phones, that should prove to be an exceptional upgrade. Especially if the 16 Pro enjoys some of the features previously exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, like the 5x tetraprism zoom.
Of course there’s also the Capture button, which is rumored to be coming to all 4 iPhone 16 models. According to The Information, this new button won’t just be a button. It may also offer gesture control to fine-tune camera settings before you take some video.
Those gestures reportedly include the ability to zoom in and out by swiping left and right, using a light press to focus and activating a video recording with a full press. Apparently this button will be on the right side of the iPhone 16, where the antenna is currently situated. Apparently this is a spot that’s “ideal” for finger access when the phone is held horizontally.
Apparently Apple will use the button as a major selling point, and I’m wondering whether this will encourage more people to go back to filming horizontally rather than vertically.
The big shock here is that The Information claims the Capture button is mechanical, and not solid state like the Action button. The site claims that the button will respond to touch and pressure, but that kind of design would be a big surprise. Especially since there were previously rumors Apple might scrap mechanical buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro altogether.
Though it’s claimed Apple hasn’t finalized the design of the iPhone 16 yet, these things could all change between now and September — which is when we expect the phones to launch. In the meantime you can keep up to date with all the latest news and rumors in our iPhone 16 hub.
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