The iPhone 13 and 13 Pro take incredible photos — but what if they were even better? Future models could introduce 48MP sensors and periscope tech.
Apple just launched the iPhone 13 a couple of short months ago, but that hasn’t stopped new rumors pouring in about upgraded camera systems for the iPhone 14 (and iPhone 15). For all intents and purposes, the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are among the best smartphones money can buy in 2021. They have premium designs, gorgeous displays, incredible performance, and a laundry list of other impressive features.
One area where the newest iPhones really stand out is the camera department. Whether someone buys the cheapest iPhone 13 mini or the highest-end iPhone 13 Pro Max, they can rest assured they’re getting a phone with excellent camera capabilities. At the heart of the iPhone 13 is a 12MP camera with OIS and phase detection autofocus. Joining that is a 12MP ultra-wide camera, followed by a 12MP telephoto shooter exclusively for the Pro models. Despite the relatively small 12MP sensors by 2021 standards, Apple manages to churn out some of the best-looking photos and videos out of any smartphone on the market.
That’s what makes the idea of huge upgrades for future iPhone cameras so exciting. If Apple can get such good results with a pretty standard 12MP array of sensors, imagine what it could do with vastly improved hardware. According to new reporting from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, those kinds of upgrades could be in the works for both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15. Starting with the former, Kuo says that the “standard rear cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be upgraded to 48-megapixels.” That’s a 4x resolution increase over the iPhone 13’s primary camera, potentially adding much more detail to iPhone photos next year. This reinforces similar reporting from another analyst about a week ago, making the idea of an iPhone 14 with a 48MP camera that much more likely.
The iPhone 15 May Get A Periscope Camera
As for the iPhone 15, Kuo mentions that the 2023 iPhone will get a “periscope” camera as an upgrade to the current 3x telephoto camera on the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max. Periscope camera technology isn’t something Apple’s ever used in an iPhone before, though it has been featured repeatedly in Android handsets. The Galaxy S21 Ultra, for example, uses a periscope camera to deliver 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. It’s unclear how much zooming capabilities Apple plans to offer with its periscope lens, but it’s bound to be a huge improvement over what’s available today.
While additional details on the iPhone 15 will be unclear for at least another year, building rumors for the iPhone 14 are already really exciting. The current expectation is that it’ll have a nonexistent camera bump, no notch, and an iPhone 4-inspired design. Combine that with the increasing likelihood of its 48MP primary camera, and that sounds like a pretty compelling package. These rumors are bound to twist and change leading up to next September, but at least for right now, the Apple iPhone 14 (and iPhone 15) have our attention.
Source: 9to5Mac
About The Author
