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New leak may confirm the most controversial part of Apple’s iPhone 11 redesign

Published Jun 14th, 2019 8:21AM EDT
iPhone 11 Release Date
Image: MobileFun

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There are so many exciting new smartphones set to be released in the coming months. The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Pro are both due in August, Samsung’s horrible Galaxy Fold may also launch soon with a slightly less horrible design, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL that Google just unveiled 4 months early is set to hit store shelves in October, and there are several other new smartphones that will debut between now and the end of 2019. As is always the case, however, no upcoming smartphones have managed to stir up hype that comes anywhere close to matching Apple’s iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and iPhone 11R (or whatever Apple ends up calling them).

We’ve seen countless leaks and rumors that suggest Apple’s upcoming next-generation smartphone lineup will feature a design that is almost identical to its previous-generation iPhone lineup. There is one big visual difference between last year’s iPhones and the new iPhone 11 series, however, and it has managed to stir up a ton of controversy already, despite the fact that Apple’s new iPhone 11 lineup hasn’t even been unveiled yet so nothing can be confirmed. Unfortunately for Apple fans who don’t like this particular new design element, a new leak is as close to a confirmation as we’ve come so far.

If you’re an Apple fan, you obviously know exactly what we’re talking about at this point: the rear camera. The good news is Apple is giving it’s iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max a massive camera upgrade with three rear-facing lenses, a new low-light mode that’s rumored to rival Google’s Night Sight, and more. The bad news is Apple decided to use a massive square camera bump to make it happen.

There is absolutely no question that this square camera bump will be exactly like the notch Apple first introduced on the iPhone X in 2017. People are going to freak out about it at first, and that’ll likely last a week or two. Then it’ll be the new norm and no one will care anymore. The outrage of Apple fans is just as easy to predict as the fact that the Sun will rise in the east each morning and set in the West in the evening. For that first week or two, however, the whining will be incessant.

You should all brace yourselves for it now because the latest leak pretty much confirms that the square camera bump is happening. Accessory maker Olixar is almost always spot-on when it releases accessories ahead of a new smartphone launch, and it just sent iPhone 11 Max (and iPhone 11) camera protectors to smartphone accessory retailer MobileFun. As you’ve undoubtedly surmised at this point, they match the exact design we’ve seen leak time and time again. Here are a few images:

And here’s a hands-on video with the new iPhone 11 Max camera protectors:

Long story short, this is Apple’s new iPhone design. Like it or not, it’s coming in September when Apple’s new iPhone 11 lineup hits store shelves. And people who buy an iPhone 11R (or whatever it’s called) won’t get a reprieve either, because that model will also have a large square camera bump despite only having a dual-lens rear camera.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.