The iPhone 16 could arrive with a mystery new button.

Modifications to the Response button are also possible.

Apple added a new button to its iPhone lineup with the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, but the company may have even more buttons in the works, with another new button rumored to be included on every iPhone 16 pro-max model.

This comes from leaker Instant Digital, who posted the tip on Weibo (via MacRumors), and although we’d take the claim with a grain of salt – especially because iPhone 16 rumors are still in the early stages – they’ve previously accurately leaked Apple information.

However, this button is a bit of a mystery since, while Instant Digital believes there’s a “great chance” that every iPhone 16 model will feature it – that is, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – they don’t explain what it will accomplish.

Design modifications

What Instant Digital does indicate is that the mmWave antenna will be relocated to the left edge of these phones, making room on the right edge for this new button.

They additionally claim that the Action button will undergo changes, including a switch to a solid-state construction, which means it will rest flush with the side of the phone and will not move when touched, instead delivering haptic feedback (vibrations). However, the power and volume buttons are expected to remain unchanged.

It appears strange, however, that Apple would add new buttons to the iPhone two years in a row, especially because the Action button is programmable and can already be used for a variety of functions.

Much of this has already been reported, with an earlier iPhone 16 leak citing this mystery new button and claiming that it, too, will be solid-state. According to the source, the new button is internally known as the ‘Capture’ button, implying it has something to do with the camera – perhaps it’s for snapping images.

So we’re not sure, and we probably won’t find out Apple’s plans until September 2024, when the iPhone 16 series is slated to be released.