iPhone 15 Rumored to Debut Hybrid Lens With Larger Aperture Ahead of Further Upgrades in 2024

[MacRumors]

The iPhone 15 lineup will feature a glass-plastic hybrid lens with an ƒ/1.7 aperture before Apple expands the technology with next year's iPhone 16 models, according to a recent claim from the Twitter user "RGcloudS."

The upgrade will apparently make the iPhone 15 series the first global smartphones with a hybrid lens design, since existing devices with this technology from the likes of Xiaomi are only sold in China. The hybrid lens will reportedly feature a single glass element and six plastic elements. Currently, the wide camera across the iPhone 14 lineup has seven plastic lenses.

The iPhone 15 lineup's main camera will also feature an ƒ/1.7 aperture, a slight increase over the ƒ/1.79 aperture offered on the iPhone 14 Pro models. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are expected to be equipped with the 48-megapixel rear camera introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max last year. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature a ƒ/1.5 aperture, meaning that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus could be looking at an aperture downgrade this year.

While the devices are expected to use the same 48-megapixel Sony IMX sensor as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the larger aperture will enable the wide camera to capture up to 20 percent more light. Allowing more light into the camera enables better performance in low-light conditions and the ability to use faster shutter speeds. It can also create a shallower depth of field, which can emphasize the subject of an image by blurring the background more.

With next year's iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple will reportedly upgrade the wide camera to an eight-part hybrid lens design with two glass elements and six plastic elements. It will also introduce five- and six-element hybrid lenses on the telephoto and ultra wide cameras, supplied by Sunny Optical Technology.

Last week, the Twitter user claimed that the iPhone 15 lineup could feature stacked battery technology for increased energy density and prolonged lifespan. Now, they have clarified that this upgrade is instead apparently destined for the iPhone 16 series, alongside 40W wired charging and 20W charging via MagSafe. Apple purportedly wishes to introduce larger image sensors and stacked battery technology simultaneously.

The "RGcloudS" account mainly focuses on Android leaks and its track record for Apple rumors is unclear, so it should be treated with some skepticism at the current time.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Rumored to Debut Hybrid Lens With Larger Aperture Ahead of Further Upgrades in 2024

 

[rotvaldi]

Idk why that sounds so breakable… like the glass back 🙄 Apple

 

[dantracht]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

 

[yustas]

Can we skip to iPhone 17?

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

Weird I saw a massive improvement going from a 12PM to a 14PM

 

[robd003]

Plastic lenses sound like they'd scratch really badly

 

[bruinsrme]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

I use my wife's 13pro over my 14pro when taking vacation picts.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I'm liking what I'm seeing. Looks like we're expecting major upgrades to the camera

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

What no way! Have you not experienced Macro Photography in iPhones Pro models?

Share Your Best Macro Photography Shots

One of the main features that made me purchase the new iPhone 13 Pro is it’s ability to take great close-up photos (which will be very useful for my work). Does anyone have any great macro photography shots they would like to share? I’d love to see them. Thanks!

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Umacga]

Plastic lenses sound like they'd scratch really badly

If you can manage to get to the lenses to scratch them, your phone, or at least the camera portion, is probably already beyond repair.

 

[cardfan]

So the takeaway is it won't be significantly different from prior iphone besides the increase in price. You need to buy this. There's people to impress.

 

[zach-coleman]

The damn 14 pro already can't focus on anything nearby and the macro lens looks awful. I think we're beginning to reach a point where making the camera bigger is actually making it worse as a phone camera.

 

[kirk.vino]

Plastic lenses sound like they'd scratch really badly

They talk about the internal elements. The actual lens cover is sapphire crystal that hasn’t changed and is not going to change.

 

[Crowbot]

Plastic lenses sound like they'd scratch really badly

The lens cover is still sapphire. Not likely to scratch.

Edit: Ops, someone beat me:

 

[contacos]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

The iPhone 12 PM photos actually look much more natural and therefore better than the artificial enhanced photos taken on the 14 PM. Personal taste of course!

 

[zach-coleman]

I haven’t seen a huge camera difference since the 11. I know that’s just me but….

On things that are further away I find the 13 pro to be a huge improvement over the 11. From what I've seen, the 14 pro is one step forward two steps back.

 

[anthogag]

Who doesn't like a good hybrid ?

 

[contacos]

The damn 14 pro already can't focus on anything nearby and the macro lens looks awful. I think we're beginning to reach a point where making the camera bigger is actually making it worse as a phone camera.

Yep and I thought the 12 Pro Max was already bad focusing up close. The other day I had to verify my ID with one of those verification apps and I could not do it with it because the camera simply could not focus on the text of my ID. I had to pull out my old 7 Plus to get it verified

 

[dantracht]

On things that are further away I find the 13 pro to be a huge improvement over the 11. From what I've seen, the 14 pro is one step forward two steps back.

This. Just for me not enough for me to be excited. Ya know?

 

[Kylo83]

We need a new sensor and closer focusing

 

[killhippie]

Except the lens cover isn't real real Saphire as on my Tag Heur, its actually a sapphire composite material, which is not as hard as pure sapphire. Plastic sounds cheap and not that great for some reason. the 16 seems to be the phone to get, I'm happy with my 14 Pro. I'm in no hurry to spend money on iPhones for the sake of spending money on iPhones for very minor updates, just my take.

 

[zach-coleman]

Yep and I thought the 12 Pro Max was already bad focusing up close. The other day I had to verify my ID with one of those verification apps and I could not do it with it because the camera simply could not focus on the text of my ID. I had to pull out my old 7 Plus to get it verified

This happened when I was setting up a google router with a QR code for a 14 pro owner. I had to type the number in manually because it couldn't focus. I have another friend with a 14P and they send me videos occasionally complaining about how the focal range is so narrow that it constantly fails to focus on the subject of the video.

 

[The Game 161]

I use my wife's 13pro over my 14pro when taking vacation picts.

for some reason processing got worse in 14 pros for certain shots. luckily IOS 17 has fixed some processing issue

 

[LlamaLarry]

Yep and I thought the 12 Pro Max was already bad focusing up close. The other day I had to verify my ID with one of those verification apps and I could not do it with it because the camera simply could not focus on the text of my ID. I had to pull out my old 7 Plus to get it verified

Yeah, I was out of state on vacation and my debit card company's fraud detection kicked in and disabled my card - while I had a cart full of groceries to pay for. I call up customer service and the only way to get it done is by a verification website accepting photos of my ID... their system would not accept any of the photos from my 12PM and despite talking to a human about it there was no other way to verify my identity so I had to use a different card.

 

[jaworq]

plastic fantastic xDD