iPhone 16 Pro's Ultra Wide Camera Rumored to Receive Major Upgrade

[MacRumors]

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.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Pro's Ultra Wide Camera Rumored to Receive Major Upgrade

 

[karranz]

Starting at 3000 €

 

[rymc02]

Still hoping to see Sony's stacked imx903 on the main sensor next year.

 

[wikiverse]

The telephoto camera also needs a better sensor, especially on the 5x. I don't want to say the photos are bad, but they're different... from good.

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.

 

[orderoftheditch]

All three rear cameras should use the same 48 MP sensor.
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?

 

[Kylo83]

How many people really using that

 

[DrWojtek]

Still hoping to see Sony's stacked imx903 on the main sensor next year.

I hope you mean this year

 

[rymc02]

The telephoto camera also needs a better sensor, especially on the 5x. I don't want to say the photos are bad, but they're different... from good.

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.

Yea I think you're right that the marketing focus will be on spatial video. Really hope this focus doesn't take away from just giving us the best camera sensors possible.

All three rear cameras should use the same 48 MP sensor.
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 would love them to have the same sensor but the cost would be about $500 more expensive. There is a big difference in cost from the large 48 sensor of the main sensor to the other sensors on the phone. I willing to bet the ultra wide will get the iPhone 15 (not Pro) 48MP sensor. It is slightly smaller and less expensive than the 48MP sensor on the 15 Pro.

 

[kiranmk2]

This is what I hate about modern Apple. You can see the roadmaps are there to drip features down the range and over time. No doubt the reason it's the ultrawide sensor being upgraded first is so it can be dripped down to the non-pro range the next year, when the Pro models will get a telephoto "upgrade". There should be no reason why all phones in the range don't get 48 MP sensors for all the rear cameras this year.

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).

 

[rymc02]

Yea I think as someone else said in the comments, upgrading the ultra wide is more about 4K spatial video recording than anything else. They will need to market it hard to try and give people a reason to buy the Vision Pro.

Remember too that 48MP doesn't mean a better image. If they still use a small sensor to keep costs down and add 48MP instead of 12MP, low light (especially true for telephoto lens) suffers greatly. If they did use the same high end 48MP sensor on the main camera for the telephoto and ultra wide, they would probably charge $1500 for it. It sucks to wait but there are reasons other than just a trickle down to give people reasons to upgrade every year; that is part of it though, I'm sure.

 

[PsykX]

One word : FINALLY !

How many people really using that

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.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

8K video too? 48-megapixel rumored for an iPhone a few years ago was also rumored to support 8K video. 48-megapixel Samsung phones have had the 8K video shooting option since 2020. Does Apple finally catch up this year?

I’d like the option to shoot in it since- as an option and just like the spatial video option- it wouldn’t be forced on anyone else not interested in capturing their own 8K video: such people could keep capturing at whatever resolution they prefer now.

 

[ItsMeMicke]

iPhone 17 Pro. Three 48MP cameras. Under display face id? I might skip Iphone 16 Pro 😁

 

[L92]

I wonder if the vanilla 16 still use the exact same UW from i11. The quality is just as embarrassing as the 60hz display.

 

[newyorksole]

idk what it is, but I find myself not happy/satisfied with a lot of my 15PM pictures.

let’s see how the 16PM looks…

 

[CarAnalogy]

How many people really using that

I do. Very handy when you can’t get far enough back. Also good for really close up.

I agree with other posters that all three cameras need to be the same quality. I only use the zoom levels to capture the information I need in the frame, not quality. The quality is noticeably worse and if I want best quality I just get in the right range to make 1x work.

 

[PJWilkin]

Gone are the days when Apple used to lead in Megapixels

they Should have all been 48mp with the iPhone 15

 

[R2FX]

Tim Cook’s Apple at its finest… drip feeding tiny improvements every year to have something to talk about

Time to retire couldn’t come faster for him

 

[landstreicher]

48MP on the wide is most likely a feature to support 4k spatial videos.

 

[ELman]

iPhone 17 Pro. Three 48MP cameras. Under display face id? I might skip Iphone 16 Pro 😁

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[CharlesShaw]

This is what I hate about modern Apple. You can see the roadmaps are there to drip features down the range and over time. No doubt the reason it's the ultrawide sensor being upgraded first is so it can be dripped down to the non-pro range the next year, when the Pro models will get a telephoto "upgrade". There should be no reason why all phones in the range don't get 48 MP sensors for all the rear cameras this year.

I know, right? Why don’t they simply reinvent the iPhone every single year and give us something totally exciting that we’ve never seen before?

 

[mimeArtist]

That writing on the lens will undo any benefits the upgrades may have

 

[Skyscraperfan]

Actually more pixels mean even less light if the size of the sensor stays the same.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Will they make them flat with the back of the phone so they don't stick out like warts? That would be really revolutionary.

 

[OneBar]

More MP doesn't mean better light capability. It's almost like no one understands photography anymore. It would have been better had they gone with a 24 MP sensor the same size as the 48 with bigger pixels. That would have garnered better low light capability. That and a better f/ stop.

But noooo no one thinks outside of MOAR MERGAPERXALS....