With new iPhones now less than a month away from launch, rumours regarding some of their finer design details continue to circulate in the Asian supply chain, and the latest purported changes are at least a little interesting. According to an unverified source purportedly from key Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn(via Slashleaks/MacRumors), the 2019 replacements for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will look virtually identical to their predecessors from the front but will be easily distinguishable due to several rear design changes.
In addition to the long-rumoured introduction of a triple-lens rear camera, which is expected to feature 0.5x (wide-angle), 1x (standard), and 2x (zoomed) modes, the iPhones are now said to be dropping the iPhone name from their backs, preserving just the rear Apple logo for branding. They’re also expected to come in standard black, white, and gold colours, as well as a brand new dark green, which is suggested to be the year’s “most beautiful” colour and resemble Sony’s Xperia Z5.
Prior rumours have suggested that the new iPhones might shift from reflective glass to a matte finish, and the source suggests that will be the case, with the same material carrying over to the triple-lens camera. However, the lenses will have a new coating to improve visual quality, and they’ll “aggressively” benefit from upgraded 12-megapixel sensors that will thicken the camera bump somewhat compared with prior iPhones.
The front TrueDepth camera system, however, appears set to have the same look and notch as on prior iPhones. It remains to be seen whether Apple will improve the resolution, speed, or other functionality of the selfie and authentication system, but the company now generally makes at least small year-over-year improvements to each of its cameras.
Other features are generally expected to remain the same, including Lightning connectors; 1-Amp chargers; and 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage tiers. Apple’s 3D Touch pressure-sensitive touch display is said to be absent from this year’s models, without an in-screen fingerprint scanner or other enhancement to offset the change. The company is also expected to stick with 4G cellular networking chips this year, though rivals Samsung and Huawei have already started transitioning their flagship devices to the newer 5G standard.
Recent speculation has pointed to Apple adopting new names for the iPhones, with the iPhone XR sequel becoming the iPhone 11, the iPhone XS sequel becoming the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone XS Max sequel arriving as either the iPhone 11 Max or — less likely — the iPhone 11 Pro Max. While the “Pro” model is expected to ship in dark green, leaks of rear glass earlier this year suggested that the iPhone XR sequel may have a lighter green and pale lavender. It’s expected to feature two rear lenses, an improvement from the single-lens XR but a step down from the Pro models.
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As always, rumours such as these should be taken with the requisite grains of salt, though the new details line up enough with established information to be credible. Apple is expected to officially unveil the new iPhones at an as-yet-unannounced media event in September.
