Apple could finally be ready to update a key specification of the iPhone that has remained intact since 2014.
There are big updates for iPhone cameras
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Despite the strong emphasis that Apple continues to place on the iPhone’s main camera, its hardware specifications lag far behind the competition. Everything could be about to change.
The latest information from perennial analyst and loser Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the flagship ships of the 2022 iPhone will feature a new 48-megapixel main camera that will take iPhone photography to a “new level “.
In accordance with MacRumors, Kuo states:
“In terms of pixel size, the iPhone 12, the iPhone 13 and the new HiPhone 2H22 are approximately 1.7um, 2um and 1.25um, respectively. We believe the new HiPhone 2H22 can support direct output 48MP and 12MP output (four-cell output mode) simultaneously.With a 12MP output, the CIS pixel size of the new HiPhone 2H22 increases to approximately 2.5um, which is significantly larger than the iPhone 12 and the PiPhone 13, and is larger than existing Android phones and is approaching the DSC level.We believe that the camera quality of the new HiPhone 2H22 will take the photography of mobile phone cameras to a new level. ”
This suggests that the 2022 iPhone will soon use larger large megapixel sensors with “pixel binning” technology, a long-standing trend with proven results on current Android flagships. Kuo claims that the projected pixel size of the future 1.25-micron camera is larger than that of existing Android phones, but that wouldn’t put the next iPhone at the top of the stack. The current champion of the large sensor, Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra, already has 1.4 microns of even larger pixels and is currently at the top of Dxomark’s camera ranking.
However, if Xiaomi’s results are anything to go by, this major shift in iPhone sensor technology is likely to lead to a generational shift in Apple’s photo performance. In addition to the improved low-light performance that can come from a larger sensor, its higher resolution will result in a significant increase in zoom performance, which remains a serious weakness for today’s iPhones.
48-megapixel capture also paves the way for 8K video capture, which requires frames of about 33 megapixels each, well beyond the iPhone’s current 12-megapixel limit.
With the addition of this new camera, we may finally see the iPhone camera ready to take the best of Chinese flagships in terms of raw image quality.
Follow @paul_monckton on Instagram