Apple may have accidentally given us a peek at what its plans are with the iPhone 16, which is set to be unveiled by the company very soon.
Earlier this week Apple conducted its WWDC keynote where it unveiled iOS 18, a new update to the operating system powering all of the company's products. Before its official unveiling iOS 18 was described internally by Apple as the biggest update the company has ever done, and the rumors certainly lived up to the hype as iOS 18 ushers in fundamental changes and improvements to how iOS functions on Apple's devices.
One aspect of iOS 18 that has caused some conversation online is the subtle change Apple made to the user-interface (UI), specifically the screen right next to the bezels around the edge of the iPhone. When pressing either of the volume buttons the bezels protrude inwards toward the center of the screen, giving a visual indicator to the user a button is being pressed. While this might seem like an extremely small aesthetic change, it has resurfaced a previous rumor about the iPhone 15 Pro.
Previous rumors slated the iPhone 15 Pro to be the generation of iPhone that Apple removed both volume buttons. However, further rumors indicated Apple scrapped the idea due "unresolved technical issues before mass production." Those same rumors were then attached to the iPhone 16 Pro, and are corroborated with Apple's evident push to increase the durability of its iPhones while also freeing up internal space.
Reports are now claiming the iOS 18 tweak may be a clue that the soon-to-be-announced iPhone 16 line-up may use a unified volume button with separate haptic feedback for volume up and down.