iPhone 12 Pro Chassis Leak Suggests LIDAR Inclusion

With the clock ticking down to Apple's official virtual event on Tuesday, last-minute leaks of this year's iPhone generation continue to come in. Not all of them, however, are encouraging, like word about the expected 120Hz refresh rate display on the iPhone 12 Pro. Swinging to the other side of the spectrum, however, a new leak now seemingly confirms one other debated details about the Pro iPhones, putting a LiDAR sensor on the back of the smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro.

Apple's first-ever LiDAR sensor debuted on the iPad Pro when it would have probably made better sense on an iPhone first. LiDAR can be used both for enhanced AR but also for enhanced plain photography, something that is better suited for a more portable handheld device like an iPhone. Naturally, there has been speculation that Apple will bring that technology to the iPhones as well and it starts with the iPhone 12.

There have been multiple rumors and leaks about LiDAR on the iPhone 12 Pro models but those have so far been focused on the larger 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. A new leak showing off what is allegedly the chassis of the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, however, suggests that it might be a family trait after all.

The short video clip also calls attention to some still-unidentified cutout which may be for a smart connector or the 5G antenna. More telling, however, is the relocation of the SIM tray to the bottom of the device along the phone's now flatter edges. If it weren't for the camera bump, this could have been easily mistaken for an older iPhone 5 or earlier.

Along with the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro is expected to be announced together with a non-Pro 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and a 5.4-inch standard iPhone 12 model. There is still some uncertainty about the actual availability of these phones, with rumors putting the iPhone 12 Pro duo as far back as late October or even November.