September is almost here, and that means Apple’s iPhone 15 event is just around the corner. The iPhone 15 rumor mill has been growing even stronger the past few weeks as we get closer to launch, and by this point, we already know a lot about the still-unannounced phones.
In the lead-up to a new iPhone, phone case manufacturers get some details, like product dimensions and other hardware changes. This is so that they can manufacture those cases ahead of time and get them ready before or right at launch.
We recently got our hands on a slim, clear case from Totallee for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro. It doesn’t reveal everything about the iPhone 15 Pro, but it does reveal a few sneaky things about the upcoming handset.
An Action button and USB-C? Maybe!
The biggest rumors for the iPhone 15 Pro are related to replacing the classic mute toggle with a new Action button, similar to the one on the Apple Watch Ultra, as well as replacing Lightning with USB-C. Unfortunately, we can’t confirm either of those two things with the case sample that we got from Totallee.
The slim, clear case from Totallee provides very little insight into either of these things. On the left side, there is a cutout opening, which would work for either the traditional mute toggle or an Action button. I was hoping that the case would feature a button cover there, as that would be more obvious, but alas, the cutout works for either, so we can’t draw any conclusions from that alone.
The same thing is true with the bottom opening for the charging port. It maintains the capsule shape like most other cases, so you can’t specifically say that this is designed for a USB-C cable, as it’s very similar to Lightning in terms of shape.
Having a clearer indication of USB-C would be great, but assuming the iPhone 15 does have USB-C, it’s good to know it won’t cause a drastic shift in the design for the phone.
Forget about the haptic rumors
Another rumor that was circulating was that Apple could be changing the two volume buttons to a single unified rocker, possibly using haptic feedback in place of actual buttons.
But reports seemed to indicate that Apple had encountered technical difficulties with this design, as it would require three haptic engines and was more complex to build. Does our iPhone 15 Pro case offer any hints about what’s going on here?
The Totallee case has covers for two separate buttons, so it does seem to indicate Apple ditched the unified volume rocker. We could see that in a future iPhone model, but for now, it appears that there will still be two individual buttons for volume control.
Button positions have shifted
This is something that seems to happen every year, and I’m convinced it’s to make your existing cases incompatible with the new models, despite looking very similar.
The cutout for the mute switch/Action button on the left, as well as the volume buttons, seem to have been shifted downward ever so slightly, as does the side button on the right.
I also noticed the size of the buttons on the case are smaller than what you have on the iPhone 14 Pro right now, which would indicate another change.
It’s common for iPhone button placement to shift around like this with every new generation, and while it’s not the most exciting thing in the world, it does give us a better idea of what the iPhone 15 Pro will look like when it’s finally announced.
Thinner bezels are all but confirmed
I tried to put the Totallee iPhone 15 Pro case on my iPhone 14 Pro, and of course, it won’t fit. The case looks too small for the iPhone 14 Pro, which may indicate that the physical size of the device is going to be slightly smaller, with thinner bezels to retain that same 6.1-inch display size.
We’ve heard plenty of rumors about thinner bezels for the iPhone 15 Pro, and this case seems to further confirm those reports.
No big camera changes
Finally, what about the camera? From reports and rumors, we should continue to expect a large camera bump. But the size of the camera module seems about the same.
It’s a little hard to determine if the camera module will remain the same size, at least with the regular Pro model. As I mentioned already, the case seems smaller than current iPhone 14 Pro cases, so my iPhone 14 Pro does not fit well. But on the back, the camera module seems to fit fine — it’s not obstructed by the case itself.
Changes in the camera module may be more significant with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as that model is expected to get a new periscope-style telephoto camera for better zoom performance. But, at least for the regular iPhone 15 Pro, it doesn’t appear too much has changed here, at least not physically.
Different, but familiar
We’re only a few weeks away from Apple’s iPhone 15 event, so we’ll find out what the iPhone 15 Pro will look like soon enough. And we should get all of those details alongside a new Apple Watch Series 9, and maybe even an Apple Watch Ultra 2.
If we learned anything from this simple iPhone 15 Pro case, it’s that the iPhone 15 Pro will be different, but very familiar at the same time. That’s largely what the rumor mill has suggested over the last few months, and this case appears to confirm that. But there are other changes that no case or accessory can tease — such as the rumored titanium body, new A17 chip, and new colors.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 15 series on September 12 or 13.
