The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro the models are rumored to feature several significant camera upgrades. Contrary to color option rumorsreports on the next iPhone Camera technology tends to be quite specific, with camera component supply chains often revealing specific information well in advance of the device’s release date.
In keeping with the way Apple reserves its higher-end camera features for the “Pro” models, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max are expected to receive moderate camera upgrades, with the most substantial changes exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to push iPhone photography to the limit.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max
iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13
- 12-megapixel wide camera with Focus Pixels
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture
- Front camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max
- 12-megapixel wide camera with Focus Pixels
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with ƒ/1.8 aperture and autofocus
- Front camera with ƒ/1.9 aperture and autofocus
The iPhone 14’s new 48-megapixel wide camera is expected to be exclusive to Pro models, while standard iPhone 14 models will retain a 12-megapixel wide camera as the iPhone 13 line up.
Earlier this year, Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo said all four iPhone 14 models, including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, will feature an improved front camera with autofocus and a wider aperture of ƒ/1.9. The component should costs three times as much to Apple.
A wider aperture would allow more light to pass through the lens and reach the front camera sensor on the iPhone 14 models, which would improve image quality. Kuo said these camera upgrades could provide a better depth-of-field effect for Portrait mode photos and videos, while autofocus can improve focus during FaceTime and Zoom video calls. In comparison, the front camera of all iPhone 13 models has fixed focus and a smaller ƒ/2.2 aperture.
Kuo correctly predicted that iPhone 13 Pro models would brag significantly improved Ultra-wide camera, moving from ƒ/2.4 to ƒ/1.8 and from a five-element lens to a six-element lens, also gaining autofocus instead of the current fixed focus. In 2022, these Ultra Wide camera upgrades are expected to trickle down to the entire iPhone 14 lineup instead of being restricted to the Pro models.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- 12-megapixel wide camera with Focus Pixels
- 6-element telephoto lens
- 4K video recording
- Front camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- 48-megapixel wide camera with Focus Pixels and pixel binning
- 7-element telephoto lens
- 8K video recording
- Front camera with ƒ/1.9 aperture and autofocus
The 48-megapixel camera is the most widely spread iPhone 14 camera function. Due to the increased megapixel count, the iPhone 14 Pro’s wide camera pixels will be smaller, supposedly measuring 1.22µm, according to a detailed rumor from Asia. This is a reduction of 0.68µm compared to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The new Wide sensor is believed to be a Sony unit, like the iPhone 13 Pro. Despite the change in pixel size, the iPhone 14 Pro will allegedly feature the same Dual Pixel Autofocus (DPAF) system, marketed by Apple as “Focus Pixels”, that the iPhone has offered since the iPhone 6 in 2014, and the same ability to record 16:9 HDR video at up to 60 fps.
The device’s sensor is said to be 1/1.3-inch wide, a 21.2% increase from the wide camera’s 1/1.65-inch sensor width on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. This translates to an approximate increase in sensor area of 57% compared to the iPhone 13 Pro.
This increase in sensor size requires a larger lens to capture more lightresulting in a sharp larger rear camera array. The 1/1.3-inch sensor size is the same as Samsung’s 50MP GN1 sensor, which is used in the Google Pixel 6.
Overall, the information suggests that the iPhone 14 Pro will deliver larger, higher-resolution images with finer detail, but at the risk of low-light performance and more noise-sensitive images.
To solve this problem, the iPhone 14 Pro models are supposed to supports 48 megapixel and 12 megapixel outputswhich would probably be achieved with a process known as pixel clustering. Already used on some Android smartphones like Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, pixel binning merges data from multiple smaller pixels on the camera’s image sensor into one “super-pixel” for improved light sensitivity. low light.
Pixel clustering is advantageous because simply increasing the megapixels of a smartphone camera while maintaining the same camera sensor size results in smaller pixels, which generally capture less light, which which results in lower quality low light photos. Pixel binning would allow the iPhone 14 Pro models to take high-resolution 48-megapixel photos in bright conditions and 12-megapixel photos in low-light conditions that are still high quality.
The 48MP camera system should be limited to the iPhone 14 Pro and enable 8K video recording, offering a significant upgrade over the iPhone 13 Pro’s 12MP camera and 4K video recording capabilities. High-res 8K videos recorded with the iPhone 14 Pro would also be suitable for viewing on Apple’s AR/VR headset.
Kuo has previously said that he believes the camera quality of the iPhone 14 Pro models will “elevate cell phone camera photography to a new level”.