Exclusive: iPhone 16 camera specs & Capture Button details revealed

New camera updates updates coming to the iPhone 16 line

Apple is widely expected to announce its latest round of iPhones during an event taking place on September 10. While we await word on if that is true, more information continues to leak surrounding the devices.

Many others have claimed Apple will be introducing some big changes including a higher-resolution ultra wide camera and a tactile capture button. Sources we have worked with for years have not only confirmed these details to AppleInsider, but added to them.

Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will retain a pair of shooters on the back. There will be the primary wide camera that provides a 1X and 2X zoom, and a secondary ultra wide camera for the .5X zoom out.

As has been shown in many mockups and dummy units, these cameras will now be vertically stacked instead of on a diagonal.

The primary camera will be staying the same in 2026. It will still be 48MP with an f/1.6 aperture and optical quality 2X telephoto capabilities.

The ultra wide though, will get a faster f/2.2 aperture from the f/2.4 it had before. This allows more light to hit the sensor, improving low-light shots.

New ultra wide camera will finally support macro photos on iPhone 16

Non-Pro model iPhones are also believed to support macro photography for the first time.

The bigger shift is coming to the two Pro-level phones. They still have three cameras on the back — a wide camera, an ultra wide camera, and a telephoto camera.

The telephoto lens will come to both iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

The primary sensor is again, staying the same. It’s still 48MP with an f/1.78 aperture that can also take 2X optical-quality 12MP telephoto shots, and has 1.22 micrometer pixels.

Both models will get the 5X telephoto lens this year as it will no longer be a Pro Max model exclusive. This will replace the 3X telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro.

Otherwise, the telephoto lens is the same with 12MP and an f/2.8 aperture.

Finally, the ultra wide lens will balloon to 48MP and will have the same pixel-binning feature as the primary camera. It will have .7 micrometer pixels when shooting at full resolution or 1.4 micrometer when used as a quad pixel.

The ultra wide lens will be upgraded to 48MP

We also expect users will be able to shoot 48MP ProRaw photos when using this upgraded lens. ProRaw has the most amount of image data that allows for more options in post processing.

We heard two other small details about these upgraded cameras. Our sources say that Apple will support a new image format with the iPhone 16.

That new format is said to be called JPEG-XL. It will sit alongside HEIF, JPEG, HEIF Max, ProRaw, and ProRAW Max that are offered now.

We’ve also been told that the two Pro models will support 3K video at 120 frames per second with Dolby Vision. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected to shoot 1080P at either 120FPS or 240FPS or 4K at 60FPS.

What we’re most eager for though, is the long-detailed capture button. We received confirmation on many of the rumors and presumptions that have been thrown around.

The rumored capture button on our iPhone 16 dummy unit

The Capture Button should be coming to all four new iPhone models. It will be located on the lower-right corner, so when held in landscape, the camera bump will be on top and your index finger will sit atop the new button.

This button is capacitive. This practically means that you will need to use your finger to activate, so it won’t be inadvertently triggered in your pocket.

It’s designed to be used exclusive by camera-specific apps. Users will be able to dictate which camera app it opens, be they Apple’s or third-party ones.

Once in the camera app, it has a force-sensitive half-press that will be tied to a developer API. This could, for example, lock the exposure and focus, before you press it all the way to take the photo.

Since it is capacitive, it will act as a trackpad of sorts. Sliding your finger along the button, which is also tied to a developer API, can do different actions.

The capture button will be ideal for shooting photos and video

Our guess is Apple will use this to zoom in and out while in the stock app. Other options may be to cycle through filters to apply at time-of-capture, adjust the exposure up or down, or maybe adjust the degree of background blur on a portrait shot.

With this new button and iOS 18, users will be finally able to remove the camera from their Lock Screen and replace it with this physical control.

These features and more are coming to the new 2024 iPhones very soon. Stay tuned to AppleInsider for live coverage of the event, and in-depth analysis of the new hardware as we approach iPhone season, and after release.