The iPhone 16 Pro could fix a major camera lens problem – as new design hints leak

iPhone 15 Pro review back handheld angled camera
The rear cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

There's no sign of the iPhone 16 leaks drying up (and they're unlikely to, between now and September) and now a couple of fresh reveals have appeared online, focusing particularly on the iPhone 16 cameras and the design of the upcoming Apple handsets.

To begin with, well-known tipster yeux1122 (via MacRumors) says that a new camera lens coating – using atomic layer deposition (ALD) – is being used on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models this year, according to a supply chain source.

ALD means more control over the thickness and composition of the coating, because it's applied one atomic layer at a time, and the source says that should help fine-tune the camera lens stack without adding bulk.

In practical terms, expect improvements in terms of reducing artifacts like flare and halos, when the sun is shining directly on the lens. ALD should also reduce ghosting on fast-moving objects, as well as adding extra protection to the camera lens.

Camera layouts

So that's one camera upgrade for the Pro and Pro Max models – what about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus? The rumor is that these models are going to adopt a vertically stacked dual-lens design, in part so they can film using the 3D spatial video format.

More evidence for this comes in the form of leaked schematics provided by the usually reliable ShrimpApplePro: the schematics show both the 6.1-inch iPhone 16 and the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus with two cameras stacked on top of each other.

There are now several leaks corroborating this design change, which takes us back to the look of the iPhone 12 launched in 2020. The layout of the three cameras on the back of the Pro and Pro Max models, meanwhile, isn't expected to change.

Before we get to see the new iPhones, we'll be hearing a lot more about the iOS 18 software that they're going to come with. Mark your calendars for June 10, which is when Apple should present iOS 18 to the world at WWDC 2024.

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David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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