We’re expecting the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro to launch in September, so Apple’s new superphones might not be long in coming. The rumor mill has been churning for months, and there are plenty of leaks about what we could expect, including larger displays with thinner bezels, new processors, and a sleeker design. Apple has already talked about its Apple Intelligence capabilities being included in iOS 18.
But as a professional photographer, I’m most excited about the cameras.
Apple has always equipped the iPhone with some of the best cameras you can get in a smartphone, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max with its 5x optical zoom remains one of the best camera phones money can buy right now.
Read more: Best iPhone to buy in 2024
Competition is fierce, especially in the photography space, and Apple will be looking for ways to keep the phone’s photography capabilities at the highest level, so let’s dive into the rumor mill circulating about the cameras on the iPhone 16 lineup.
A new physical camera button
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have a new “Action” button on the outer edge of the phone that lets you customize it to perform different actions, like launching the camera or recording a voice memo.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s action button may be supplemented by a new physical camera button.
MacRumors believes that an additional button will appear on the next model, aimed specifically at photographers. The button acts as a camera shutter and has multiple sensitivity levels, allowing a half-press to focus and a full press to take a picture. Rumor has it that the button also recognizes swipe gestures, with swiping left or right allowing you to zoom in or out.
The volume buttons have been able to activate the camera shutter for some time, but this new button would enable more comprehensive camera controls and allow you to use the iPhone more like a compact digital camera.
Better zoom for all Pro models
According to Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, the base model of the iPhone 16 Pro will come with a 5x optical zoom lens. This has previously only been found on the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max, so it would be nice to see the same level of zoom offered in a smaller, more pocket-friendly package.
The 10x zoom of the S23 and S24 Ultra could face competition.
Both phones could get an upgrade. Some previous rumors suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will get a “super telephoto lens” that offers zoom levels beyond the current 5x range. While this would be a welcome addition for sports or nature photographers who rely on long zoom levels, these rumors were already circulating in the summer of last year before we even saw the iPhone 15 launch, so take them with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Larger image sensors
According to a MacRumors report that includes claims from Weibo user Digital Chat Station, the iPhone 16 Pro’s main camera could have a larger image sensor. This would apparently be 1/1.14 inches, larger than the 1/1.28-inch sensor on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
A larger sensor captures more light and image information, allowing for better detail, greater dynamic range, and improved low-light performance, so it would be great to see such a big increase in size. Noted leaker Majin Bu posted on X allegedly leaked casings for the upcoming Pro models that feature a significantly larger cutout for the camera island. This would make sense if we do indeed see larger camera sensors – and thus larger camera units – on the phones.
It would be wise for Apple to follow suit here, as phones like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra already use even larger 1/0.98-inch (known as the 1-inch type) image sensors for their main cameras.
The larger image sensor of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra makes it a powerhouse in photography.
Ultra wide angle cameras with higher resolution
The ultra-wide-angle cameras on iPhones have been somewhat neglected in recent generations, with the resolution remaining at 12 megapixels since the iPhone 11. A report by well-known analyst Jeff Pu, obtained by 9to5Mac, states that the ultra-wide-angle cameras on both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will receive a significant increase to 48 megapixels.
Read more: The best and worst times to buy a new iPhone
Vertical camera arrangement
Various rumors and leaked renders suggest that the base models of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will have a vertical camera arrangement, rather than the diagonal shape seen on the iPhone 15. This would make the design look more similar to the iPhone 12, but there is a more important reason for this that goes beyond pure aesthetics.
A vertical camera layout like this would allow the phones to more easily capture spatial video by using information from both cameras to create a 3D-like effect. That would make sense, as Apple brought spatial video recording to the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, but not to the base iPhone 15 models, likely due to the camera layout.
Spatial videos could be displayed properly on the Apple Vision Pro headset.
While spatial videos look like regular 2D videos when played on your iPhone, they are designed to create a 3D effect when viewed on Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
What else we want to see
While Apple talked a lot about artificial intelligence at its WWDC event, there wasn’t really any talk about possibilities that could extend to image capture. The iPhone’s camera already uses artificial intelligence to varying degrees in computational photography, skin tone rendering, depth mapping, and even the automatic settings it uses when taking a picture.
Read more: Apple iPhone 16 Plus leaks suggest compact battery and more colors
Deeper AI would allow for better scene recognition and therefore better use of settings and processing to capture more beautiful images. I was also impressed with the AI object removal seen on the Google Pixel range and we may see similar AI-based editing tools on the next iPhone.
Speaking of editing, Apple may introduce more video editing capabilities on the phone, especially when shooting in Log on the 15 Pro and Pro Max. Log videos are designed to look flat and gray when recorded, as this provides a better foundation for editing and adding color and contrast later.
iPhone footage captured in the Log color space needs to be edited on computers or the iPad. It would be nice if there were more options for editing these footage on the iPhone itself.
Currently, you have to transfer the footage to an iPad or computer to edit the log videos using software like BlackMagic’s DaVinci Resolve, so it would be good if Apple introduced more ways to edit log footage on the phone. Perhaps even included a dedicated set of “LUTs” – presets that let you quickly apply color and contrast to video – in the iPhone’s editing tools.
