There are those who are already counting the hours to reserve a new iPhone 16. Those who come from an iPhone 15 or simply believe that they can find cheaper cases if they are compatible with them, will surely ask themselves the million dollar question regarding the Case Compatibility Between iPhone 15 and 16including its “Plus”, “Pro” and “Pro Max” versions.
GOOD we have bad news that you already imagine. And for technical reasons, there seems to be no reason to use the standard and “Plus” iPhones. However, there are compelling reasons (not literally) why there is no backwards compatibility in the new iPhone 16.
Case Compatibility between iPhone 15/15 Plus and iPhone 16/16 Plus
We will start by talking about the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus compatibility vs. iPhone 16 and 16 Plus
|
IPHONE 15 |
IPHONE 16 |
DIFFERENCE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
SCREEN |
6.1 inches |
6.1 inches |
Equal |
|
HEIGHT |
14.76 centimeters |
14.76 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WIDTH |
7.16 centimeters |
7.16 centimeters |
Equal |
|
THICKNESS |
0.78 centimeters |
0.78 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WEIGHT |
171 grams |
170 grams |
-1 gram |
|
IPHONE 15 PLUS |
IPHONE 16 PLUS |
DIFFERENCE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
SCREEN |
6.7 inches |
6.7 inches |
Equal |
|
HEIGHT |
16.09 centimeters |
16.09 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WIDTH |
7.78 centimeters |
7.78 centimeters |
Equal |
|
THICKNESS |
0.78 centimeters |
0.78 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WEIGHT |
201 grams |
199 grams |
-2 grams |
The camera button is responsible for the incompatibility of the cases between the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus
The reasonable doubt here is to think why with identical dimensions there is no compatibility of covers. And you may think that maybe it is because the new iPhone 16 changes the arrangement of the cameras, but it is not only that. The fundamental reason is the new camera button that these terminals add on one of their sides.
And this new button is haptic, so the covers must have a corresponding opening in this part to be able to interact with the finger directly on the surface. Therefore, even if they share dimensions, the covers do not fit both. In the absence of testing, perhaps the iPhone 16 for the iPhone 15, although it is such a strange hypothesis that it makes little sense to comment, given that whoever owns an iPhone 15 will have cases for that iPhone and not the other way around.
Case Compatibility between iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro/16 Pro Max
Unlike the previous case, here we see more than obvious differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max with the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. They are rare in some areas, but enough to know that they are not compatible.
|
IPHONE 15 PRO |
IPHONE 16 PRO |
DIFFERENCE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
SCREEN |
6.1 inches |
6.3 inches |
+0.2 inch |
|
HEIGHT |
14.66 centimeters |
14.96 centimeters |
+0.3 centimeters |
|
WIDTH |
7.06 centimeters |
7.15 centimeters |
+0.09 centimeters |
|
THICKNESS |
0.83 centimeters |
0.83 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WEIGHT |
187 grams |
199 grams |
+12 grams |
|
IPHONE 15 PRO MAX |
IPHONE 16 PRO MAX |
DIFFERENCE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
SCREEN |
6.7 inches |
6.9 inches |
+0.2 inch |
|
HEIGHT |
15.99 centimeters |
16.3 centimeters |
+0.41 centimeters |
|
WIDTH |
7.67 centimeters |
7.76 centimeters |
+0.09 centimeters |
|
THICKNESS |
0.83 centimeters |
0.83 centimeters |
Equal |
|
WEIGHT |
221 grams |
227 grams |
+6 grams |
Being bigger makes The iPhone 16 Pro needs new cases adapted to them. And anyway, even if they had the same dimensions, we would find ourselves in the same position as the previous one because these models also include the new camera button and this space must be free in the housing.
The conclusion is therefore that You will not be able to use covers that are not exclusive to this model. It doesn’t matter which one you have and which one you’re going to buy. Either the iPhone model and case match, or you won’t be able to join them. Unless you do it by force, which we don’t recommend at all.
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