Rumor: The iPhone 16 Will Be Boring with new Buttons Added

In the recently published newsletter by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Apple leaker mentioned a few key details about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro in addition to major changes planned for the Watch Series 10 and iPad catalog.

He described that the standard iPhone 16 duo will share an Action Button with the iPhone 16 Pro while all four models will add an all-new “capture” button, supporting the earlier rumor.

The position of the capture button is believed to located on the lower-right side of the chassis while the Action Button remains on the upper left. This means the 5G mmWave in the US variants will be repositioned from the left to the right. The non-US models will most likely remain unaffected given the lack of this radio spectrum.

What is the function of the new “Capture” key on the Apple iPhone 16

What's more interesting, however, is how Gurman revealed the possible function of this capture key. It is supposedly a dedicated camera shutter button for recording videos on the new iPhones. It added that the camera shutter button will rely on a capacitive component and Apple's Force sensor to detect different levels of pressure similar to the trackpad on MacBooks or Home ID in the iPhone SE.

It's unclear whether the source refers to a dedicated function for video recording or if can also work when taking still photos. Regardless, the related camera shortcut makes sense as the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 are said to boast 3D or spatial video recording that could be played back on the Vision Pro headset. Perhaps Apple might market the integration of the iPhone 16 with its headset.

No big surprises for the entire Apple iPhone 16 line

Elsewhere, the iPhone 16 is tipped to feature very few changes from the iPhone 15. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are believed to only receive a new chipset and slightly wider displays than their predecessors. Meanwhile, the smaller Pro could finally feature a periscope camera with 5x zoom, which is exclusive to the Pro Max this year.

What about the vanilla iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus? This duo would see their dual rear cameras rearranged to support spatial video recording. The displays on the pair were previously rumored to remain the same with a disappointing 60 Hz refresh rate and Dynamic Island cutout. However, they should be powered by the custom A18 Apple chipset and possibly sport a better cooling system as well.

Do you think the addition of new buttons are practical updates on the iPhone 16? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Source: Bloomberg