iPhone 16 ‘dummy’ units give us glimpse of upcoming changes

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iPhone 16 dummy units
The iPhone 16 series might well look like these mockups.
Photo: Sonny Dickson

Images of iPhone 16 “dummy” units have been published by a tipster with an established record. They show the redesigned camera hump reportedly coming to the two non-Pro models and other changes.

The pictures are the best look yet at the handsets Apple is expected to launch in autumn 2024.

iPhone 16 dummy units reveal multiple changes

Although Apple is half a year away from unwilling the 2024 iPhone, details have been leaking out for months. And the leaks have now reached the point that iPhone 16 dummy units are starting to appear.

Tipster Sonny Dickson posted on X images showing mockups of all four upcoming iOS handsets from the back and both sides:

The leak helps confirm earlier reports that the camera hump in the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will be about half the current width, with the LED flash moved outside of the hump. The design, featuring two lenses one atop the other, harks back to the iPhone X.

One of Dickson’s images also shows that the customizable Action button that premiered in the iPhone 15 Pro will appear on all of the 2024, as had been previously rumored. Apple makes a habit of introducing new features in the Pro models before bringing them to all of its handsets.

The leaked pictures also reveal basic information, like that there will continue to be four models in the iPhone 16 series, and that none of them are being really radically redesigned.

iPhone mockups are a real thing

This leak is part of long-running phenomenon. For years now, 3D mockups of Apple handsets appear in Asia well before the devices are unveiled. These often prove quite accurate.

For example, Sonny Dickson showed a collection of iPhone 13 dummy models months before the launch. These turned out to be quite accurate. Before that, a set showing every model in the iPhone 12 series appeared in June 2020, well ahead of the October debut.

The mockups are supposedly based on specifications Apple gives Asian companies in its component supply chain.

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