iPhone 16’s Capture button may work even when covered with a case

One of the biggest upgrades we’re expecting to see on the iPhone 16 line is a Capture button, which can be used for taking photos and recording video. But this is reportedly a smarter button than most, with a capacitive design that also lets you swipe across it to zoom the camera in and out.

It’s a design that could pose a problem for case makers, since you’d expect it to not register swipes if it’s covered. An obvious, but inelegant, solution would be to cut out a recess for this key so that it’s not covered (and thus unprotected) by the case, but Apple may have a better solution.

According to leaker DuanRui post on X (via 9to5Mac), Apple’s official cases for the iPhone 16 series will feature an “integrated design” instead of a cutout. It’s not clear what exactly this design will be or how the capacitive Capture button functions through it, but they claim those functions won’t be affected.

Third party cases may be less fortunate

Whatever solution this is, it is possible that it will not be offered by third parties. Previous leaks have shown that there is a cutout for the Capture button.

But once the iPhone 16 series launches and Apple shows off how its case design works, chances are other brands will imitate it.

Of course, this assumes DuanRui is correct, and as always with leaks, we’re taking this with a grain of salt. But we’ll probably find out very soon, as the iPhone 16 series – including the iPhone 16 itself, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – will very likely launch on Monday, September 9.

We’ll be reporting live from the event, so head back to Ny Breaking to find out all about the iPhone 16 range and the official cases.

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