Once more, the iPhone 16 is said to have vertically aligned cameras, most likely for spatial video

It was claimed back in May that the iPhone 16 will receive a camera hump that was placed vertically, just like the iPhone 12. According to a recent rumour, Apple is reportedly testing a design for the iPhone 16 that not only rearranges the camera lenses but also redesigns the camera bump.

This story was posted on Mac Rumors today by a person connected to a fairly well-known leaker account from the iPhone 15 rumour mill. The article makes clear that Apple’s intentions are subject to change and that the new information is based on pre-production data.

The source claims that two distinct camera bump designs are being explored for the iPhone 16. One design is the same as the existing iPhone 15 camera bump, but instead of the lenses being stacked diagonally like on the iPhone 12, they are arranged vertically.

The other design has a single vertical camera bulge that holds both lenses, much like the iPhone X and 7 Plus. The rumour, which is a little hazy, claims that “Apple is considering” an iPhone X-style design in addition to the iPhone 12-style design, which is the “design we are expecting at this point.”

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Apple rearranged the three camera lenses on the iPhone 15 Pro this year, moving the Telephoto and Ultra Wide lenses to different positions. The iPhone 15 Pro may now record spatial video for Vision Pro thanks to this modification.

You should be able to capture spatial video with the iPhone 16s as well, should Apple decides to go with altering the camera setup of those devices. Although it’s not addressed in the report today, this makes sense as to why the design was changed.

In the end, the article released today states that “more changes are always possible” and that “Apple’s design plans have not yet been finalised.”