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iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Be First Model to Feature Three 48MP Cameras
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The last time Apple blew me away with a wow moment was when they released Touch ID on I think the iPhone 5? Since then it’s been iterative improvement every release with few “wow” moments although FaceID has proved genuinely good as has being able to pay with my phone, otherwise … meh. I have a 13 Pro at the moment. Not very excited about anything 16 Pro related rumour wise. No wows.
Honestly not sure what it would take to give another wow moment either anymore.
Honestly not sure what it would take to give another wow moment either anymore.
Besides screen size and a bigger battery, which you would expect from a larger phone, the only extra feature the 15PM has is the 5X zoom which comes with an image quality tradeoff below 5X.
People who regularly follow MR will probably never have a wow moment.
I don’t know if that would or should happen. A separate camera device that is also a phone would either be an unpopular product or it would be popular and take away demand for better phone cameras and so phone camera progress would likely stagnate (even more than people complain about).
Remember, limitation is a big driving force for innovation. Apple could have put iOS on a POS camera decades ago, but that shortcut would have negated all the phone camera advancements that we have today. Who would have thought we’d be taking great night shots, and using bokeh and optical zoom, with these tiny phone cameras?
Apple did make a compromise with the camera bump. I suppose in that case they felt they exhausted what they could do with a flush camera, and just needed a bit more space to make a lot more progress, and a bump was something most of their consumers wouldn’t mind as a trade off. And for the Pro line Apple may grow the bump even more once they hit a wall, or maybe even eventually split off into yet another “Ultra” line. But skipping to end—a full on POS camera with zoom lens, etc.—would probably kill all innovation, as great as it would be for some in the here and now (including me).
Similar situation with iPads and people wanting it to run macOS.
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There are too many rumors floating around for the 16 Pro/Max and it would be a miracle if Apple gives us all these improvements this year without saving anything for next year. The 16 Pro, gets the 5x telephoto, the new ultra wide angle, a new display, a new capture button, glossy titanium finish, chatgpt enhanced AI, a slightly larger battery, 256 gb, worldwide eSIM only and a moderate price increase of $99, but no IMX903 this year, only in the 16 Pro Max. That would already be very generous for Apple.
Do you carry both the camera and phone all the time? I was thinking about doing that but I don’t t know if I can do two devices in my pocket all the time. Maybe I’ll start carrying a fanny pack…
My friend showed me some crazy far zoom pictures he took of animals on his Samsung while on a safari. I was blown away by the level of detail.
I like small phones too but at an intuitive level it makes sense for larger phones to have more features. It doesn’t affect me what they have or don’t have.
Enough about these nonsense of next year iPhone… give us first a decent upgrade for the iPhone 16. Why is there only talks about how “great” next years iPhone 17??? Meaning the iPhone 16 is not a noteworthy upgrade? Be prepared to be underwhelmed again 🥱
If you’re really into photography carrying a mirrorless body and lens isn’t that big of a deal. I use a Fujifilm X-T5 for my “serious” photography and it comes with me virtually everywhere. iPhone is fine as a backup but I don’t use it for critical shots.
They’re not chasing pixels for no reason, the sensors are quad bayer design.
FaceID for me has actually gotten worse with time. Half the time it asks for me to enter my passcode. I struggle to think of many things the phone does better than a top tier android device these days. I guess battery life is one.
Not only that, but since the invention of digital imaging the manufacturers have been playing the "megapixel" game.
That is, in order to sound better than the competition, a manufacturer keeps upping the count of megapixels.
To those who know photography, and physics, though such a game is foolishness.
As a photodiode gets smaller it will collect fewer photons, for any set exposure.
And that means the noise inherent in photon (it's a thing this universe does and you can't do anything about it) collection becomes more significant.
It's a mug's game, as the Brits used to say (I think.)
I wouldn’t say I’m into photography in the common sense of the word, like as a craft or hobby in and of itself. If I was, I’m sure I could be happy always carrying a dedicated camera. But for me, a camera is mostly about just capturing/recording information that I think might be useful reference for some future project—very utilitarian, and very sporadic which is the problem when it comes to carrying a dedicated device. (Still may be worth it)
I would get an iPhone Max and the camera would probably be good enough for almost all my situations, but I can’t stand big phones as “phones”. Even my 4.7” SE I find too big. But if the next SE gets bigger as rumored, then I’ll have no choice but to upsize eventually, and I’d get the smaller Pro which should cover much more of my camera needs, which would be the silver lining.
Looks like 17 Pro Max will be the one with significant changes. Much better cameras and all expecting to see a smaller dynamic island/hole punch cut out
There's only so much software can do -- at some point, the sensor size, (and price) need to increase. More megapixels = more noise.
Not necessarily. A 48MP Quad Bayer photo, when downsampled to 12MP, yields better detail and a less noise than a native 12MP photo. Quad Bayer sensors are interesting tech and a clever way to mitigate some of the small sensor issues.
Instead of Tetraprism telephoto lenses, I suggest mounting three of these pups!! About time we really got close up with razor sharp images!!! Ahhh.... the weight. Loved my Canon 100mm F1.2 telephoto. A beauty of a lens. Oh wait we also need the upgraded enlarged image sensors to match this 1200mm F8 beast......
To each his/her own. She likes that her flip phone has just the basic messaging, calendar and phone apps. An iPhone can do the same. I have no social media apps. The smartphone is a tool. People can use it or not use it just the way they want.
I hate to think where society would be if we always stopped at Good Enough.
Jamming more and more pixels onto the sensor and then trying to “fix” the attendant issues with software is the problem. The argument isn’t “it’s good enough.” The argument is “these upgrades are not really upgrades.”