We’ve long suspected that the iPhone 16 series will tear up the rulebook when it comes to iPhone screen sizes, and the latest set of leaked iPhone 16 case dummies shows how these rumored size changes could manifest in reality.
Shared to X by Apple tipster Sonny Dickson (via PhoneArena), a new iPhone 16 dummy unit picture displays all four rumored iPhone 16 models – that’s the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max – side-by-side, in descending order of premium-ness.
As you can see below, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is listed as being the largest phone of the lot, at 6.9 inches (up from last year’s 6.7-inch size), while the iPhone 16 Pro also gets a size bump, from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are listed as remaining at 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively, which fits with all previous rumors we’ve heard so far regarding iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus screen sizes.
As well as screen sizes, these new iPhone 16 dummy units appear to corroborate the rumor that the cameras on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be arranged vertically, rather than diagonally (as on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus).
Why might Apple be going back to this iPhone 12-style design? For our money, spatial video could be the reason: while the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can capture spatial video (i.e. 3D-style content viewable on the Apple Vision Pro headset), the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus can’t. The theory is that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can use their two vertically-arranged lenses to shoot from two slightly different camera angles at the same time, but the same approach isn’t possible on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
So, by adding vertically-arranged camera lenses to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, Apple could open up the spatial video format to a larger audience, thus encouraging more Apple Vision Pro sales. Alternatively, the company might just prefer the iPhone 12 camera style, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the spatial video rumor is true.
As for the cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, their arrangement is expected to be unchanged, and that rings true in this latest set of dummy images. However, the increased screen size of both models will reportedly allow for an ultrawide camera upgrade on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, and an optical zoom range boost for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
It’s worth noting that dummy units – despite being used by case makers to ensure that their cases fit upcoming phones – are not always 100% accurate, so we’d still take every iPhone 16 rumor listed in this article with a pinch of salt. Mind you, these latest dummies align with other leaked iPhone 16 dummies we’ve already seen, so we’re quietly confident that we know exactly what to expect from the iPhone 16 and its siblings.
