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iPhone 15 Pro Max Could Have Thinner Camera Bump and Smaller Footprint [Updated]

I don't see this happening until the 16's. I just see camera / chip improvements and new color(s) for the 15 pro line. The regular 15 line adopts the DI, new color(s) and maybe some camera improvements.

This is also my wallet talking because design changes this soon will probably take my money.

16 we get the design changes: regular/plus, pro/pro max, ultra with the fancy orange buttons, james bond 20,000 electric shocker to whoever is foolish enough to steal from the owner, and fancy touch pad guided driver assistant to drive your BMW 750i around.
 
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I really wish they'd get rid of that black platform/base that the lenses sit in. I think it would look cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing if the lenses just sat individually right onto the aluminum chassis. I am not sure why they insist on making the iPhone's camera even more of an eyesore by outlining the lens area, unless it serves some kind of functionality. I always assumed it was there to soften the lens protrusion a bit by 'stepping up' to the lenses.

Personally, I instead of that bump, I wish they'd make the iPhone thicker (to accomodate a larger battery) about as thick as that bump/base sticks out, making the back flatter with just the 3 lenses protruding individually out of the aluminum chassis (as much as they protrude out from the base now), without that boxed in base/platform. What is the point of a thin iPhone if it's top heavy with a rather larger protrusion.
 
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just…Apple, please, save us from the camera bump. I know I don't complain about it much, but the previously shared CAD renders were EGREGIOUS.

if they go through with the maroon/burgundy "signature" Pro color (e.g. Deep Purple on the 14P/PM [which I do own and love], etc.), I'll have some color envy, but I will have zero envy beyond that. I buy iPhones for their cameras and their deep integration in the Apple ecosystem—not to have the already bulging phone protrude even further out of my pocket in one corner.

let's not even get started on how small my hands are…
 
MayaUser said:
So somebody is wrong...last weeks we saw cad with even thicker camera bump...
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Last week it was about the 15 pro.
On the pro max, they have enough room inside to improve the zoom with a periscope lens.
On the pro, if they cannot fit a periscope they need to increase the thickness to improve the tele module. I wonder what are the improvements…
 
Sowelu said:
I really wish they'd get rid of that black platform/base that the lenses sit in. I think it would look cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing if the lenses just sat individually right onto the aluminum chassis. I am not sure why they insist on making the iPhone's camera even more of an eyesore by outlining the lens area, unless it serves some kind of functionality. I always assumed it was there to soften the lens protrusion a bit by 'stepping up' to the lenses.

Personally, I instead of that bump, I wish they'd make the iPhone thicker (to accomodate a larger battery) about as thick as that bump/base sticks out, making the back flatter with just the 3 lenses protruding individually out of the aluminum chassis (as much as they protrude out from the base now), without that boxed in base/platform. What is the point of a thin iPhone if it's top heavy with a rather larger protrusion.
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it's rather interesting how iPhones have been getting thicker over the years, but we're not seeing longer battery life by way of bigger batteries—if anything, iOS 16's battery life paired with a 14PM was horrid on release (it seems to have gotten better?)—we're just seeing thicker camera bumps. there has to be a better way.

my opinion differs from yours on the "platform/base" but you make an interesting case for it either way. (lol, no pun intended with "case" given an extremely thicc case is the only way to hide the bump these days…)
 
citysnaps said:
That's only important to camera owners who are into specs, having the best, etc.

And not all that important to photographers who make photographs.


"On the other hand, if you truly want to take high quality photos, then get a real camera with a real lens and image sensor."

Over the years I've found that great photographs that move a viewer has little to do with camera gear. And is really about the photographer and his/her life experiences, ability to see, evaluate light and its quality, recognize gesture, know what elements to include/exclude in the frame, understand the power of releasing narrative, etc, and on and on.
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That platitude you express is only partially true. Most photography, including most pro photography, is simply competent captures for a purpose. The "great photographs that move a viewer" are the rarities, not the routine goal (not that that is a bad goal, but it is not what most photography starts out intended to be).

E.g. 20 years ago I was shooting product shots every day; the tripod alone cost me $1k, plus Nikon and Nikon lenses. I did get a few great photographs that move a viewer, but those were due to staging and thought, not due to the SLR/DSLR. I am reasonably confident that (using the same lighting) today for most products I could adequately capture similar images using an iPhone Pro. I would still use the D850 today because I can, but it would be mostly overkill.

Smartphone capture now allows more people to capture images well - - especially because everyone now has a competent camera in their pocket (how that happens with tiny inexpensive lenses boggles my mind). IMO improvements to smartphone capture capability are quite relevant, bringing competent photography to more (not all) folks.
 
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So far nothing exciting about the iPhone 15
Need more than a smaller camera bump
To entice me to buy it
Albeit the 3nm chip is a big plus
 
It’s so stupid, but this latest leak has me excited again. I would still probably wait for the iPhone 16 pro max assuming it will be a refinement of this new design (which lets face it isn’t that much different from the 12-14pro design).

I’m hoping the 16 pro will have the hole punch and if so that iPhone should set me up for life.
 
I hope camera technology makes such crazy improvements that they can fit inside the phone again someday. I miss being able to lay my phone flat.
 
0.2mm is damn near imperceivable. Like some others mentioned, this means something for case makers but it's not looking like a radical redesign to how the phone will feel while holding it practically.

Aka it will continue to be a pretty annoying and embarrassing chonker of a phone.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
That platitude you express is only partially true. Most photography, including most pro photography, is simply competent captures for a purpose. The "great photographs that move a viewer" are the rarities, not the routine goal (not that that is a bad goal, but it is not what most photography starts out intended to be).

E.g. 20 years ago I was shooting product shots every day; the tripod alone cost me $1k, plus Nikon and Nikon lenses. I did get a few great photographs that move a viewer, but those were due to staging and thought, not due to the SLR/DSLR. I am reasonably confident that (using the same lighting) today for most products I could adequately capture similar images using an iPhone Pro. I would still use the D850 today because I can, but it would be mostly overkill.

Smartphone capture now allows more people to capture images well - - especially because everyone now has a competent camera in their pocket (how that happens with tiny inexpensive lenses boggles my mind). IMO improvements to smartphone capture capability are quite relevant, bringing competent photography to more (not all) folks.
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True. My thoughts were with respect to most non-professional photography. Shooting NFL football (and other professional fast action sports from a distance) with an iPhone wouldn't cut it for most shots, for example. I suspect a lot of (but not all) professional product photography would be the same for getting consistent results.

A lot of people would say the same thing for wedding photography. But I've seen the results of several professional wedding photographers that shoot solely in a reportage style with iPhones and the results are first class. It's all about seeing and recognizing the power of gesture and what's before you, telling a story, understanding light, etc, rather than having the best camera.

Looking at photographs by Robert Frank, just as an example, particularly in his The Americans series, speaks volumes with respect to the above. Though he shot with a Leica 3, close examinations of his photos does not reveal anything technically superior/outstanding from using that camera and lenses. Though no doubt it was a camera that he could rely on and it probably fit like a glove while making photographs. The strength of his photos came from his ability to see, framing, and recognizing scenes that would support the narrative he was expressing through his photographs.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
Smartphone capture now allows more people to capture images well - - especially because everyone now has a competent camera in their pocket (how that happens with tiny inexpensive lenses boggles my mind). IMO improvements to smartphone capture capability are quite relevant, bringing competent photography to more (not all) folks.
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Yes, absolutely. I started making more and more of my photographs with an iPhone 4S, and then progressing over time to a 5S, 6+, X, 12, and now a 14PM - which I use 100% of the time. I made some of my best photographs with the X.
 
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I don’t know whether to be happy this will help prevent me from upgrading this year or be disappointed there isn’t a greater design change. 4 years of practically the same design…

Titanium should be an improvement in weight but it doesn’t look as premium as stainless steel. The rounded edges should make an ergonomic improvement in the hand but are so subtle I don’t know if it’d be that much better. Plus most people will just throw a case on anyways.

I hope this doesn’t mean this is going to be the new generational design for the next 3 years. If it is, the rumored Ultra model makes more sense now. I can see them putting all the design changes there.
 
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we are talking < 1mm in each direction, sure, I can read the dimensions, but, neither my eyes nor my hands will notice any difference - YMMV
 
citysnaps said:
That's only important to camera owners who are into specs, having the best, etc.

And not all that important to photographers who make photographs.


"On the other hand, if you truly want to take high quality photos, then get a real camera with a real lens and image sensor."

Over the years I've found that great photographs that move a viewer has little to do with camera gear. And is really about the photographer and his/her life experiences, ability to see, evaluate light and its quality, recognize gesture, know what elements to include/exclude in the frame, understand the power of releasing narrative, etc, and on and on.
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I totally agree with you, but do not like that you used the word "make" in front of photographs, maybe I'm old school but I like to take photographs, on both my 13PM and my DSLR. The word "make" implies either too much computational photography or editing work (I do use LRC for minor adjustments though)
 
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I am done with this form factor and certainly need something totally new design for spending my next 1k bucks out
 
Should be enough of an upgrade for those of us that have the iPhone 12 Pro and older. DI, 120hz, better battery, WiFi 6E if rumors are to be believed and type c port.
 
jz0309 said:
I totally agree with you, but do not like that you used the word "make" in front of photographs, maybe I'm old school but I like to take photographs, on both my 13PM and my DSLR. The word "make" implies either too much computational photography or editing work (I do use LRC for minor adjustments though)
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I always used to use the work "take," as in taking photographs. Around ten years ago I started using the word "make," as in making a photograph.

For me, "taking a photograph" feels too casual. What one would do making a quick snapshot of some thing or some person, without much thought involved.

Most photographs I make involve a lot of thought before I release the shutter. I'm thinking about what I want to express, the amount of and quality of light, environmental context (ie, supporting background) if people are involved, gesture of people, what to include or not include in the frame, whether to let some details drop into the shadows (to stimulate mystery), what I want to be in focus and out of focus, etc, etc - all to help stir a viewer's imagination and conjure a narrative of some sort. That narrative can be anything, and not necessarily what I had in mind.

While all of the above thought an decisions sounds like a lot of stuff to consider, it really happens within a few seconds. It has nothing to do with post-processing/editing or computational photography.

Here's a candid photo I made with an iPhone X (or maybe it was a 6+) a few years ago:
 

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What I notice most is weight, height, and width. The thickness of these phones is so low relative to the latter two dimensions that I doubt this change in thickness will make much difference in feel. Plus, according to these figures, the volume is increasing by only ~3% (from 97.9 cm^3 to 101.2 cm^3, not including the bumps), so the size change by itself will not change the weight much.

The real issue for me is whether you can comfortably put the phone in a front pocket, and I can't do that with either the Pro or the Pro Max. I'd thus like to see a foldable Pro, which would be smaller in all dimensions (including thickness, even after being folded) than a standard men's wallet.
 
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