iPhone 16 Pro's Ultra Wide Camera Rumored to Receive Major Upgrade
The iPhone 16 Pro models will be the first to feature more than one 48-megapixel sensor, leaving the Telephoto as the only rear-facing camera with a 12-megapixel resolution, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports.
Writing on Medium, Kuo explained that the iPhone 16 Pro's Ultra Wide camera will feature a 48-megapixel sensor. The upgrade should allow the camera to capture more light, resulting in enhanced photos when shooting in 0.5× mode, especially in low-light environments.
The iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, and iPhone 15 Pro models already have a 48-megapixel Main camera that uses "pixel binning" to merge data from four pixels on the sensor into one "super pixel" for improved low-light capture. With the iPhone 16 Pro models, this technology is expected to expand to the Ultra Wide lens, which is currently a 12-megapixel lens.
This also means that iPhone 16 Pro models should be able to shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos in Ultra Wide mode. These photos retain more detail in the image file for more editing flexibility, and can be printed at large sizes.
Last year, International Securities analyst Jeff Pu claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro will feature a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera. Just a few months later, further details about Apple's plan for the new Ultra Wide camera emerged on Chinese social media site Weibo. With Kuo now throwing his weight behind the rumor, the upgrade seems highly likely.
In 2025, the iPhone 17 Pro is expected to complete the rear camera array's transition to 48-megapixel sensors, bringing the technology to the Telephoto lens. Kuo added that the iPhone 16 Pro is on-track to feature the tetraprism Telephoto camera introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. He also said that the iPhone 17 lineup will feature an upgraded front-camera camera unit with a 24-megapixel sensor and a six-element lens.
Popular Stories
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Apple's rumored plan to refresh the entire AirPods lineup with a series of new models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The fourth-generation AirPods will reportedly feature a new design with a better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C port. For the first time ever,...
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
Top Rated Comments
Just because the shot requires using the wide or telephoto doesn’t mean the photo should have to be taken using an inferior 12 MP sensor.
Obviously the iPhone is now so mature adding new features each year gets harder and harder, probably why they are dragging this out. Wide to get 48MP this year and then the telephoto to also get 48MP for the iPhone 17?
I'd be willing to bet the biggest selling point of this will be Spatial Videos in 4K resolution, and almost no one is going to care. But an upgrade to the Ultra Wide photos is a bonus, so I won't complain.
As someone who only ever wanted the Pro for the telephoto lens (not interested in log / proraw, don't want always on screen and can't see much improvement in 120 Hz screens compared to an iPad), I'm now happy to go with the regular iPhone as the 2x sensor crop is fine for me (perfect for portraits).
There are even some leaked selfie shots:
I LOVE using the Ultra Wide Angle lens.
So that makes at least 1 person ?
I did notice the quality has always been subpar though compared to the Wide Angle. The images are darker.
Here's one of my latest shots so you know I actually use it. I couldn't have done this shot with just the Wide Angle.