New phones often mean new cases, but what if you want to save money, can you use an older iPhone 15 case on a brand new iPhone 16?
It’s a new year and that means new iPhones, and subsequently new cases. This year’s iPhone 16 range looks a lot like last year’s, except for a couple of minor differences, namely focused on new buttons that weren’t there last time.
Specifically, there are two: the action button from the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are part of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus this year, as is a new slider button for camera control. These changes make a different to case designs, but they’re not the only things, because there’s also a new camera design on the back.
Forget about the softened square block with diagonal cameras from the older iPhones, because Apple has replaced that with two cameras stacked on top of each other in the new iPhone 16, much like an update on the iPhone X from years ago.
Will these changes prevent you from using an older iPhone case on your new iPhone 16, and can the cases go the other way?
Will an iPhone 15 case fit an iPhone 16?
If you were thinking of finding an iPhone 15 case and just using that for your iPhone 16, we’ve got bad news: that won’t work.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to use an iPhone 15 or older case with the brand new iPhone 16, thanks to those new buttons and the change to the camera block. They’re just too different and very little lines up.
On one side, the iPhone 15 case offers a little hope, appearing similar, though those hopes are dashed quickly when the camera of the iPhone 16 fails to fit the shape of any other iPhone case. It’s just too different.
So what about the other way: can you use an older iPhone case on the iPhone 16 range?
Can an iPhone 16 case fit an iPhone 15 or older?
The answer is no for this one, as well, thanks in part to the different camera block. The change in rear camera design means an iPhone 16 case won’t play nicely with an older iPhone because the back of the phone just doesn’t sit inside the spot carved out for the rear cameras.
Even if you can somehow make them fit, the buttons don’t line up properly and you’re left with a situation that just doesn’t work.
It’s the same story with the Plus models, too
It’s a similar picture when you look at the iPhone 16 Plus in comparison to the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 14 Plus before it.
The new camera design and cut-out is just different enough to prevent cases from being recycled between generations, and the change to the buttons on either side of the phone don’t help much in this department either.
In either case, you’re going to have to buy a new case for your phone, whether that’s an iPhone 16 case for an iPhone 16 or an iPhone 15 case for an iPhone 15, or either of the plus-named variants.
