iPhone 13 Rumored to Feature 'Thinner' Notch, Overall Design to Remain Unchanged

Apple is expected to continue to offer four iPhone options in 2021, with the iPhone 13 to be identical in design to the iPhone 12 with few changes, according to a new report today from Japanese site Mac Otakara that cites sources within the Chinese supply chain.

The height and width of the four iPhone models are expected to remain the same, but thickness could increase by approximately 0.26mm.

The rear camera unit is expected to increase in size by 0.9mm on all iPhone 13 models, and Apple will shift to a design that "covers the entire camera unit with sapphire glass." The lenses are expected to protrude less in a design that's more similar to the 2020 iPad Pro, which has a thick camera bump but less protrusion when it comes to the lens design.

Mac Otakara believes that the iPhone 13 Pro could feature sensor-shift optical image stabilization, a feature that Apple included in the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

As for the front of the iPhone 13, the site suggests that the TrueDepth camera "is getting narrower" because the receiver at the top of the display will move to the edge of the case. This suggests that the notch on the next-generation iPhone could be slightly thinner.

This is the second time that we've heard rumors of a thinner or shallower notch, so it's possible the 2021 iPhone models will have a notch that's the same length but not as tall.

Other iPhone 13 rumors have suggested we could see some models getting LTPO OLED displays with support for 120Hz refresh dates, and there will, of course, be a faster A15 chip. We have more on what to expect from the iPhone 13 in our dedicated roundup.