The iPhone 12's rear camera block seems to have grown in size significantly, judging from new images of cases made for them.
Twitter leaker LeaksApplePro, has managed to get their hands on images of new transparent iPhone 12 cases by case-maker Speck. The packaging labels don't say iPhone 12, but the 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch measurements give the game away.
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What's interesting is how much larger the camera bump on the iPhone 12 seems to be compared to the iPhone 11. In this image, we see an iPhone 11 Pro Max inside the iPhone 12 Pro Max case, and there's a lot of room to spare around the 11 Pro Max's triple camera block.
It's been widely rumored that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are getting a LiDAR sensor added to the existing triple camera array introduced on the iPhone 11 Pro. We don't know if Apple's changing the main, ultrawide, or telephoto cameras in any way. But it makes sense that adding another sensor to the camera block would mean it would have to get larger, as would the opening in a case designed to fit it.
This comparison isn't flawless. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will be 6.7 inches across according to the leaks, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max is 6.5 inches. Plus the iPhone 12 hasn't officially been revealed yet, as we're not expecting a launch event until October 13.
We've seen a number of iPhone leaks over the past several months, as well as plenty of cases for the next-generation Apple phone, as case makers often release their cases before the phones they're made for, thanks to both leaked and official schematics. That means that we're probably looking at a product that will definitely fit snugly around an iPhone 12, as the iPhone 12's design is certainly finalized at this point.
iPhone 12 Mini
One other image posted by LeaksApplePro was the same Speck case design but for the iPhone 12 Mini, the rumored 5.4-inch model. This is smaller than any notched full-screen iPhone we've seen before and could be the surprise hit of the iPhone 12 range given how many users express a desire for smaller handsets.
There's no phone to compare to in this shot, but it looks like it has a smaller camera bump than the 12 Pro Max, as you'd expect for a phone with two fewer sensors.
However, we've seen from a different case leak that the base iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, both 6.1 inches, fit into the same size case. Therefore the camera bump on these phones must be the same size despite the differing number of cameras, or at least they both fit into the same-sized opening in the case. But this could suggest that only the iPhone 12 Pro Max will come with the LiDAR sensor and thus need a larger camera bump.
The other reasons to be excited about the iPhone 12 are its new chipset and displays. The A14 Bionic chip, which just debuted in the iPad Air, will bring more power and 5G compatibility to the iPhone range, while new displays mean all new iPhones will have bright and colorful OLED panels for the first time. The iPhone 12 Pro models could come with 120Hz displays, but there have been conflicting rumors on that.
We'll know for sure what leaks are true and what has missed the mark in under 13 days. So make sure to check back with Tom's Guide for all the latest iPhone 12 and Apple news.
