William Gallagher
Newly leaked images and a video purportedly of a case for the forthcoming iPhone 15 Pro appear to show many very small alterations to the size and position of controls.
Previous on and off again rumors have suggested that Apple is looking at the type and position of iPhone controls, such as the volume button. Now a new leak comparing iPhone 15 Pro cases to those of the iPhone 14 Pro show a series of minute differences.
As first shown on Chinese social media site Weibo, a series of images compared the alleged iPhone 15 Pro case to its predecessor. The most immediately significant difference concerns what was called the mute switch, and may now become an "Action" button.
The cutout for the button is noticeably smaller than that for the old switch. That would fit the claim of Apple changing to a button since that would need to only be pressed, not slid to one side or the other as at present.
While that cutout is smaller than the current equivalent, the leaked images appear to show the the one for the bottom charging connector is larger. That also fits the expectation that Apple will switch from Lightning to USB-C for the iPhone 15 Pro.
It appears that the sleep/wake button, and the volume buttons, are the same size as before, but positioned fractionally lower down the side of the chassis.
Alongside the Weibo images first spotted by MacRumors, Twitter user "Majin Bu" has leaked what purports to be a video of iPhone 15 Pro cases.
iPhone 15 Pro Max Case #apple #iphone #iphone15promax pic.twitter.com/DfRuoXWNiL
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) June 24, 2023
The most significant difference revealed in this video is that it appears that the iPhone 15 Pro will feature a slightly larger microphone grill, and also that the camera section will be bigger as well.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 Pro in September, alongside the rest of the new iPhone 15 range.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
15 Comments
How anyone would benefit from a mute switch that no longer shows its status at a glance is beyond me, but if these rumors are true, hopefully the wisdom will become evident when the phones are announced and released.
Any improvement to the mute switch would be welcome. With a case on it is very difficult to move and to see the red indicator. Also useful would be a screen reminder that the phone is muted—I always forget the turn it back on after muting.
It’s magical.
If only the power button would be moved back to the top, so I don’t take screen shots from turning off the display or using volume buttons.