Leaked iPhone 15 Pro Max renders suggest buttonless design, USB Type-C port, thicker body

The iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 15 Ultra could potentially be the first iPhone to ditch physical buttons, if recently leaked renders are anything to go by. The new images suggest the next iPhone could have recessed spaces instead of physical buttons, which are imagined to provide haptic feedback to mimic the feel of a physical click. Compared to the current iPhone 14 Pro Max, the next iPhone 15 Pro Max would be thicker, slightly shorter, and could be equipped with a USB Type-C port.

Of course, the dynamic island will still be here as we don’t expect any major changes, if any, having been introduced last year. There’s also talk that this buttonless phone could be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, meaning we could launch a fifth model this year alongside the two Pros and two standard models.

Twitter tipster Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) tweeted a bunch of CAD renders of the alleged iPhone 15 Pro Max, while comparing the dimensions of the upcoming phone with the current iPhone 14 Pro Max. The first thing that catches your eye are the empty spaces left by the removal of the physical buttons. These certainly look a bit odd and I highly doubt this is the final design. The gaps will most likely be filled by solid-state buttons that look like regular buttons, but with haptic feedback instead, similar to the Home button on an iPhone SE (2022) or the trackpad on a MacBook.

Exclusive：iPhone 15 Pro Max（or iPhone 15 Ultra），CAD-based rendering.
Compared to 14ProMax, the bezel is narrower, but thicker.
Titanium alloy middle frame with frosted process, Type-C，No physical button design. pic.twitter.com/d4fLOeqWSu

— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 25, 2023

One of the renders also suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro Max might be a bit thicker than the current-gen model (8.25mm vs. 7.85mm) without including the camera bump. At the same time, it would have a narrower width of 76.73mm (vs 77.6mm). The height of the phone could also be slightly shorter at 159.86mm, compared to 160.7mm on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Another major change, which I’m sure many would be happy to see, is the possible use of a USB Type-C port instead of Apple’s Lightning connector. Ice Universe also mentions the use of a titanium alloy frame instead of stainless steel on the upcoming iPhone Pro. All of these things are pure speculation right now, so do what you want with them.

Earlier reports have suggested that the standard iPhone 15 models are also set to receive the Dynamic Island, floating-notch treatment of the iPhone 14 Pros. We may also see a slight bump in the screen size of the iPhone 15.

The iPhone 15 Pro is suggested to come in a dark red color, which could be the signature color for the Pro lineup this year. We can expect thinner bezels, as well as more RAM in the iPhone 15 Pro Max model.