The iPhone 16 design won’t be anything new. Have we reached the “perfect” iPhone look?

We're still a few months away from the official reveal of the iPhone 16. Yet leaks and rumors are already talking about it. We hear about several improvements that Apple is reportedly working on.

One area where we've had a lot of leaks and rumors so far is the design of the phone. We're hearing about a familiar change with a vertical camera alignment on the back, and now we're hearing that Apple is working on refining its bezels.

This makes me think that no new or exciting design elements are expected. Have we reached the “perfect” iPhone design?

iPhone 16 with thinner bezels

A recent rumor talks about Apple using new technology to achieve thinner bezels on the iPhone16. The technology is called BRS, or Border Reduction Structure. There are already methods to ensure thinner frames on the top and sides, and this new technology would help make the bottom frame thinner.

As you can see, the iPhone15 and the Pro frames are already pretty thin. The Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra are also here for reference, so you can get a glimpse of what the competition is doing. However, I'm here to argue that this tiny difference we have between the iPhone and Galaxy bezels is only noticeable when you're hyper-focused on finding it.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 14 Pro Max

In real life, there is always a risk of confusing someone else's iPhone (even if it is a different model) with yours. Plus, you're not looking at the edges of the phone so much: you're probably more focused on what you're doing on your phone.

Now look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the S24 Ultra. For now, we're just focusing on glasses (I'll talk about the Dynamic Island later).

iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra

I bet you don't see any difference in the size of the glasses! And even if Apple manages to make the bezels even thinner, I say the difference won't be dramatic. The only more dramatic difference we might see would be if Apple removed bezels altogether.

The iPhone 15 and the Galaxy S24 – a tiny difference is noticeable in this photo

All of this just goes to illustrate that a change that makes the glasses just a little bit thinner isn't that big of a design change.

iPhone 16 camera alignment: Is going back to an old design considered a new design?

You've probably all heard the rumors about the “new” camera alignment on the iPhone16. We hear that the camera lenses will be positioned below each other instead of diagonally like on the 15. This change is rumored to be necessary for spatial video recording for the Vision Pro that Apple is trying to create.

But is this design really new? You probably know that's not the case. We have it on the iPhone 12. A thinner island would be similar to the iPhone X.

This conception is therefore nothing new or dramatic. If this ends up happening, it will be for practical reasons, not just aesthetics.

Has Apple found the perfect iPhone design?

Many people tend to point the finger at Apple for the lack of innovation in their designs. But is it really just from being late to the party? Or has Apple found a design that… works?

Over the years we've made incremental changes to the design, but nothing dramatic. Apple is in refinement mode, instead of experimentation mode.

For example, the 2023 iPhones Pro came with titanium replacing the stainless steel frame. This design change didn't do anything dramatic to the appearance of the device, except for the colors (but I don't really consider colors a design change per se). The titanium frame, however, was introduced with the primary aim of reducing weight.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max with Dynamic Island and the iPhone 13 Pro Max with the notch

The rest of the changes to the iPhone design over the past few years have been minimal. Overall, you notice these changes when you look for them. If you focus less on the design differences, they are almost… non-existent.

The quest for perfection

Of course, nothing is perfect in life. And neither does the iPhone. Apple at least has a few more things to work on (design-wise) to get even closer to perfection.

First up, we have Dynamic Island. It has some features (like showing notifications or verifying Face ID), but it's… well, there. If we wanted a perfect iPhone, we'd want it to disappear.

But if it didn't need to be there, it wouldn't be, because Apple's design generally focuses on simplicity and premium quality.

Another thing Apple might be looking for for a perfect iPhone is a bezel-less iPhone. Reports claim that Apple is exploring ways to get rid of bezels altogether and is also exploring UPC (Under Panel Camera) for future models. But these are still just rumors. But even so, I bet a bezel-less iPhone will look a lot like current iPhones. Yes, without glasses or Dynamic Island or anything else. But it will probably still be a “glass sandwich” with similar aspect ratio and sizes.

All I'm saying is that Apple may have reached the limits of phone design and the iPhone is almost perfect for its materials, features and use case. I think the next big step in what mobile technology looks like is something that doesn't look like a smartphone at all. So maybe a ring, smart glasses or a chip under the skin. Anyway, I think it won't take the form of a phone anyway.