Your iPhone 14 series case probably won’t fit most iPhone 15 models

If you have a phone in the iPhone 14 range and were hoping to use the same case for an equivalent iPhone 15 model, then you might be out of luck, as it seems current cases won’t fit most of the upcoming phones.

That’s going by a test performed by Japanese site Macotakara (opens in new tab) (via 9to5Mac (opens in new tab)), which acquired some iPhone 15 series dummy units from retail site Alibaba and tried to put them in cases designed for iPhone 14 models.

What it found – as you can see in the video below – was that, due to slightly larger camera housings in some cases, and around 1mm of extra size to some of the bodies, the cases mostly didn’t fit. In the case of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max dummy units, the volume buttons were also a slightly different shape, rendering the cases a poor fit.

We’ve previously heard that these models could get a single, solid-state volume button, so that could account for the change here. We’ve also previously heard that the camera housing could be larger for at least some models this year, so this test lines up with existing leaks.

The one iPhone 15 model that seemingly will fit its predecessor’s cases is the iPhone 15 Plus, as that has no change in dimensions or camera block size. That said, these dummy units do show the expected switch to USB-C ports for every iPhone 15 model, so some existing cases may not have the correct size cut-out for that.

Macotakara also tested these dummy units with screen protectors for iPhone 14 series phones, and found that these seemingly won’t work with any iPhone 15 units.

In the case of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, that’s no surprise, since they’re widely rumored to be switching from a notch to a Dynamic Island. But in the case of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, it’s reportedly because the screens are marginally smaller than before. We’d hazard a guess that this might be down to smaller bezels, which have previously been leaked.

Analysis: can you trust these dummy units?

While there are some interesting details here, we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt. Macotakara itself is a reputable site with a reasonable track record for leaks, but we can’t speak to the quality of the dummy units.

Often, dummy units will be quite accurate, as they’re sometimes based on official information provided to accessory makers to help them design accessories before a phone’s launch. But sometimes they can simply be based on leaks and rumors.

And even if these designers are working off real information, who knows how precisely the cases will have been constructed? In this case, we’re only talking 1mm differences between the upcoming phones and the iPhone 14 line, so it’s possible that the dummy units just aren’t quite precise enough.

Still, the results Macotakara came up with are largely in line with previous leaks, so these may well be accurate models of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max (or iPhone 15 Ultra as it might be called).

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.