Apple has released an iPhone every autumn for more than a decade, and after two or three of them the names blur. Most people know they have "a Pro, the big one" and leave it there, which is fine until the moment you try to buy a case that has to fit.
Here is how to settle it in under a minute.
The quickest way: ask the phone
Your iPhone will tell you exactly what it is.
- Open Settings.
- Tap General, then About.
- Look for Model Name. It reads something like iPhone 16 Pro, and that is the answer.
Order the case for that exact name and it will fit. This works on every iPhone running iOS 16 or later, which is almost all of them.
If Model Name is not there
Older iPhones show only a Model Number, a code like MQ8N3B/A. Tap it once and it switches to a different, shorter code. Either version identifies the phone. Email it to us at info@kkdesignslondon.com and we will tell you which case to buy.
Identifying an iPhone by looking at it
If the phone will not turn on, or you are buying a case as a gift and cannot get hold of it, you can narrow it down by eye. These are the features that actually changed between generations.
Is there a round button below the screen?
A physical home button means an iPhone 8 or older, or one of the SE models. We do not currently make cases for those. Every iPhone in our range has a screen that runs to the edges.
What is at the top of the screen?
A wide notch cut into the top of the display, shaped like a tab, means an iPhone X through to the iPhone 14 or 14 Plus. A small pill shaped cutout floating below the top edge, which expands when something is playing, is the Dynamic Island, and that starts with the iPhone 14 Pro.
How many camera lenses are on the back?
One lens is an iPhone XR. Two lenses is a standard model, an iPhone X, XS Max, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16. Three lenses is a Pro or a Pro Max.
How are the two lenses arranged?
On the iPhone X, XS Max, 11 and 12 the two lenses sit one directly above the other. On the iPhone 13, 14 and 15 they sit diagonally, corner to corner in the camera square. This is the most useful check of the lot, because it tells a 12 apart from a 13, and those two phones are close enough in size that nothing else will. Their cases are not interchangeable.
Is it a Pro or a Pro Max?
Size is the only difference. Hold it next to a standard model of the same generation. The Pro Max is noticeably taller and wider, roughly the size of an iPhone Plus.
For anything from the iPhone 16 onwards, do not guess from the outside. Those models are recent enough that the phone is almost certainly working, so use Settings instead. It takes less time and it cannot be wrong.
Which case fits which iPhone
We make cases for thirty two models, from the iPhone X to the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and every design is available for all of them. A few notes worth knowing before you order:
- If you have an iPhone XS, choose the iPhone X. They are the same phone as far as a case is concerned.
- Two iPhones being the same size does not mean they take the same case. The camera opening moves, so each case is cut for one model.
- Not sure which generation you are on? Our iPhone size guide lists every model we cover and what to do if yours is not there.
Once you know the model, the rest is the fun part. Every KK Designs London case is designed in London, printed to order and £35, with initials from £39.
