Apple Built a Custom Camera With iPhone Parts for 'F1: The Movie'

[ADGrant]

Mark my words…with absolute 100% certainty, when Apple releases the iPhone 26 Pro (or whatever they call it) that it will have the same ‘custom’ camera or sensor used for the movie. That will be a marketing tactic to get people to realize what a great image it can produce and that will also help drive people to watch the movie on Apple TV+.

"The module uses the 48-megapixel image sensor from the iPhone 15 Pro"

 

[coasterider]

Sky has been braodacasting on board cameras in 4K UHD since 2017.. this year is the first year the F1 TV app has offered 4K footage, they started airing on board cameras in the 1980’s and I have been watching the sport since then.

How to watch Formula 1 with Sky Sports in the 2017 season

On TV, On the Go, On Demand and Online...all the ways you can watch every Formula 1 race on Sky Sports F1 this season

www.skysports.com

And in Sky have been broadcasting 4K HDR since 2022:

Formula 1 on Sky Sports set to be broadcast in High Dynamic Range (HDR) for the first time in its history

Customers simply need to say Hello Sky, Formula 1 to Sky Glass or into their Sky Q voice remote to find all the latest news and analysis from Sky Sports F1; Sky Glass starts at just £13 a month

www.skysports.com

So no, I am NOT impressed by Apples efforts here.

Again, the onboard camera is upscaled for the International Feed. A source is very different than the final broadcast.

 

[grammatica]

I hope Marques from MKBHD gets his hands on it

 

[sahajesh]

Clearly do. Since 1980 thanks. F1 was broadcast in UHD since 2017 when Sky too the rights over.

Watch the onboard feed and tell me that’s in 4K, unlike the trackside cameras - that’s the point.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

Watch the onboard feed and tell me that’s in 4K, unlike the trackside cameras - that’s the point.

This whole argument reminds me of a coworker 15 years ago who refused to believe that his XBox 360 wasn't rendering Halo at 1080p, simply because his TV as displaying it at 1080p.

 

[Rankrotten]

Sky don't produce the F1 TV feed its Formula One Management with their own in house production which is picked up by the national broadcasters. It's quite some operation.

 

[Erik007]

"The module uses the 48-megapixel image sensor from the iPhone 15 Pro"

This is more for the person who the post on here, than you @ADGrant , but the Wired article states that

“At the heart is an iPhone camera sensor powered by an A-series chip. Apple didn't specify the exact sensor or chipset, but these were used for a few cars in real F1 races throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons, so there's a chance it was the same A17 Pro and 48-megapixel primary camera in the iPhone 15 Pro.”

the article then later states that the firmware developed to two new features for the 15 Pro. Maybe they used the same guts as what eventually went into the 16 pro? Not sure why Apple wouldn’t be more forthcoming with that info?

 

[ADGrant]

This is more for the person who the post on here, than you @ADGrant , but the Wired article states that

“At the heart is an iPhone camera sensor powered by an A-series chip. Apple didn't specify the exact sensor or chipset, but these were used for a few cars in real F1 races throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons, so there's a chance it was the same A17 Pro and 48-megapixel primary camera in the iPhone 15 Pro.”

the article then later states that the firmware developed to two new features for the 15 Pro. Maybe they used the same guts as what eventually went into the 16 pro? Not sure why Apple wouldn’t be more forthcoming with that info?

The text I quoted was also from the article.

 

[nickelro]

Turns out the subjected cameras were actually custom made by Sony: