Back in February, 9to5Mac produced some renders of the iPhone 15 Pro based on an early CAD model. Now the site has returned with some more detailed images (opens in new tab) after collating “more exclusive details from MFi accessory makers”, new CAD schematics and information from “other sources”.
While there won’t be any huge surprises for those who’ve been following the latest iPhone 15 Pro rumors closely, the camera array may still raise an eyebrow. As the images show, the camera bump is not only thicker than on the previous generation, but the “individual lens protrusion has more than doubled from the iPhone 14 Pro’s enormous cameras.”
Not many people will be thrilled about that, even if it’s all in the name of giving users the best photography performance possible. Indeed, we’ve previously heard that the iPhone 15 Pro will come with new sensor technology that should catch a whole lot more light, helping to reduce over/under exposure.
The trouble is that true photography buffs may overlook it in favor of the iPhone 15 Pro Max — which the CAD files show as having a smaller camera bump. That may be possible thanks to the rumored periscope technology coming to the top-end iPhone 15.
Despite this larger camera array, the iPhone 15 Pro will apparently be a little bit smaller overall, coming in at 70.46 x 146.47 x 8.24mm. That’s compared to 71.45 x 147.46 x 7.84mm for the iPhone 14 Pro.
iPhone 15 Pro: Solid state buttons and new color
The next big change comes in the form of the rumored switch to solid-state haptic buttons. As you can see from the render above, that means the end of physical volume buttons and the mute switch — a feature of the handset since the original iPhone hit store shelves in 2007.
Two haptic engines will emulate the functionality, but it will still offer less reassurances that a phone is definitely muted than a physical switch.
The site has also dug out a new possible color for the iPhone 15 Pro — a deep red shade. The site gives the exact code as 410D0D, and it will apparently replace Deep Purple on the current roster. The usual suspects of White, Space Black and Gold will likely continue to be available.
USB-C and thinner bezels
Elsewhere, many of the other predictions for the iPhone 15 Pro are present. You can see the USB-C port directly replacing Lightning for the first time on an iPhone, and the bezels are significantly thinner too, measuring just 1.55mm.
The titanium casing leads to a rounder edged design, which 9to5Mac speculates will make the handset feel a bit more comfortable in the hand.
In all, it looks like it’s going to be quite an upgrade thanks to the cumulative effect of small but significant changes. While the 9to5Mac does stress that nothing is set in stone until Apple unveils the handset on stage in five months’ time, it feels like the kind of evolution we’ve been expecting.
Of course it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and we’re hopeful that the A17 Bionic chip will be a serious upgrade. For now, check out our iPhone 15 Pro hub and iPhone 15 Pro Max page for all the latest rumors and leaks.