iPhone 6s Rear Camera Rumored to Retain 8-Megapixel Sensor

[MacRumors]

iPhone camera module supplier Largan Precision is expected to face limited earnings growth this year amid rumors that Apple's next-generation smartphone will retain an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera sensor, according to Taipei Times (via GforGames).

The report cites Taipei-based analyst Jeff Pu, who claims the iPhone 6s will have the same camera hardware specifications as previous models. Apple first introduced an 8-megapixel rear camera on the iPhone 4s in 2011 and used similar modules for the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.

Pu said that the camera specifications of the next-generation iPhone, dubbed iPhone 6S, will stay the same as the current iPhone 6 at 8-megapixels, limiting potential catalysts to push Largan's stock price higher in the second half of the year. [...] Pu said that although the migration to 8-megapixel and 13-megapixel lenses would remain strong among Chinese vendors of mid-tier and low-end phones, upgrades to 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel lenses for flagship phones would be slow given the limited supply of CMOS sensors -- used to convert light into electrons.

While details surrounding the so-called "iPhone 6s" remain limited, this report is consistent with Largan Precision's stock price dipping early last year amid rumors the iPhone 6 camera would retain an 8-megapixel sensor. Meanwhile, it was reported in November that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus could have the "biggest camera jump ever" with a dual-lens, DSLR-quality system.

Article Link: iPhone 6s Rear Camera Rumored to Retain 8-Megapixel Sensor

 

[sanke1]

That would be a huge disappointment and break away from S tradition which sports serious hardware upgrades.
Maybe they will shrink the camera hump back into the frame.

Edit: keeping 8 MP sensor makes sense because file size of captured images will be smaller compared to 12 or 16 mega pixel shooters. After all, Apple wants to sell you their prized 16 GB models. (Or 8 GB if possible)

 

[NotAdvisable]

I love the iPhone's camera - don't get me wrong - but good god this must be a joke.

 

[fenderbass146]

I love the iPhone's camera - don't get me wrong - but good god this must be a joke.

I don't have a problem with this...if they make the sensor better I am happy. an 8 MP picture is the size of a poster.

I would rather they stay at 8 then a modest bump up to 12. If they go the Nokia route with 40 MP pixels or whatever it has I understand that.

 

[azentropy]

"I'm only upgrading from the X to the Xs for the better camera" - said nobody

 

[Skika]

That would be a huge disappointment and break away from S tradition.
Maybe they will shrink the camera hump back into the frame.

Apple should keep the specs same too while they are at it.

5S has the same megapixel camera as the 5. So...what tradition?

 

[mattopotamus]

"I'm only upgrading from the X to the Xs for the better camera" - said nobody

actually a lot of people say that...

 

[NotAdvisable]

I don't have a problem with this...if they make the sensor better I am happy. an 8 MP picture is the size of a poster.

There is nothing wrong with 8 megapixels at all, but it has major limiting factors (eg. you can't digitally zoom at all without seriously reducing quality). 4k video would be a giant plus as well.

 

[Fzang]

Sounds very disappointing. Image composition is a cornerstone in visual art, and is held back by too few pixels to work with.

With the sleekly integrated editing tools that I can pull up within seconds in the native photo app I alter color and lighting more and more. I rarely crop photos to mark my subject, because it means losing all the precious pixels.

When Apple has released 3k display laptops and 5k display desktops it doesn't make sense to skimp on the pixels. We already have HDR and burst photos to take up space, so surely that can't be the reasoning.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

I love the iPhone's camera - don't get me wrong - but good god this must be a joke.

As evidenced by numerous camera improvements in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a higher-megapixel sensor does not always matter. Apple could still implement this rumored dual-lens, DSLR-quality system with 8-megapixel sensors on its next-generation smartphones.

 

[Aluminum213]

Got to save something for the iPhone 7

 

[Ballis]

But will the camera be flush?

 

[sanke1]

5S has the same megapixel camera as the 5. So...what tradition?

Ya actually. I myself don't care for phone camera.

Give me 2GB RAM 2X faster CPU and 4X faster GPU compared to iPhone 6 so that we can leave behind stuttering and safari tab refresh problem behind us at least for a year.

 

[unobtainium]

More megapixels = more noise. Glad Apple isn't giving in to the dumb pressure to make a noisier, crappier camera. Smartphone sensors are not large enough to accommodate more megapixels without introducing a ton of noise.

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5S has the same megapixel camera as the 5. So...what tradition?

They haven't bumped the megapixels since the 4S for a good reason. At the tiny sizes of smartphone sensors, introducing more megapixels degrades image quality and makes for noisier pictures. Apple know what they are doing.

 

[Wahlstrm]

Since storage is fixed, I don't think people would be to happy about running out of storage twice as fast just so their lowrez socialmedia sharings can have a larger original they will never use..

The amount of people who print larger than A3 (11.69 x 16.53 inches) from a phone are still quite few.

Give me the things the others don't: Dynamic range, correct colors, good lowlight performance and good IS.

 

[J.S.Bach]

my god why aren't apple stepping up their game a little bit !
a lot of people jumped to the note 4 because of the higher megapixels regardless of the image quality ! i can modify the oversaturated pic taken from the note 4 to make it look natural but i can't make the pic sharper as it has been took by a higher megapixels lens !
Timothy cook if you're reading this please give the people what they want and don't destroy apple -_-

 

[MacZach94]

If they didn't do anything I think a lot of people will be upset and go for like a S5 or some other smartphone just to have a better camera. For me, I don't like having to lug a camera around; that was Apples goal in the iPhones camera. But if they don't make some good improvements e.g. 4K then I don't see things going good for them.

 

[Skika]

More megapixels = more noise. Glad Apple isn't giving in to the dumb pressure to make a noisier, crappier camera. Smartphone sensors are not large enough to accommodate more megapixels without introducing a ton of noise.

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They haven't bumped the megapixels since the 4S for a good reason. At the tiny sizes of smartphone sensors, introducing more megapixels degrades image quality and makes for noisier pictures. Apple know what they are doing.

Oh im aware of that, i was just asking about the so called S tradition the poster i was replying to was implying.

 

[Jsameds]

5S has the same megapixel camera as the 5. So...what tradition?

The improvement in camera on smartphones is a big draw for a lot of people to upgrade.

As for the megapixels thing, it's quite evident from the comparisons between 4S, 5, 5S, 6 and 6+ (All 8MP sensors) that image quality isn't dependant on megapixels.

There's a good one here if anyone is interested.

http://snapsnapsnap.photos/how-does-the-iphone-6-camera-compare-to-previous-iphone-cameras/

 

[luckydcxx]

There is nothing wrong with 8 megapixels at all, but it has major limiting factors (eg. you can't digitally zoom at all without seriously reducing quality). 4k video would be a giant plus as well.

not if they keep 16GB as the base storage option.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Please don't let us return to the days of MP wars. More mp after a certain point is NOT better, it just uses more space. Now better lenses, that is what we always need...

 

[i5pro]

we all know that Apple isn't making the sensor...so why can't they pick up a 13mp sony sensor and make it work? I bet if they did, it would be one more reason not to go android. It's getting a little tiring always being one step behind even if it is executed brilliantly..although the 6/6+ lens sticking out is huge disappointment.

 

[SgtPepper12]

Well, Apple sort of announced that years ago. Eight megapixels are pretty much enough for any purpose I can think of. The problem is, that hardly any camera actually is capable of real 8 megapixels of information. We have limitations on the optics, on the sensor and on the software that processes the information from the sensor, so that effectively what we see when we look at our pictures in photoshop are not 8 megapixels of perfect information, but rather 8 megapixels of muddy blur, where one pixel has the information of like 1/6th of a perfect pixel. Digital cameras have gotten worse and worse over the years regarding this spec. There is more and more digital processing involved that convolutes the pixels to something hardly resembling the original information (stuff like noise cancellation, sharpening, high passing and so forth). Looking for example on sample pictures made by a Hasselblad camera (like the 50 MP ones), you'll see that the pictures look amazing, detailed to the last pixel. That's just a standard that you won't see in any camera nowadays. The average picture by a digital camera is more like a statistical picture that only makes sense when viewed from a distance.

 

[BCWorld]

Oh wow yay!! Really?? # I hope this isn't true. How long will apple keep getting away with these small poor updates????? ##

 

[ricci]

Haha! Don't get your panties all up in a curl! Rumors rumors and more rumors! Talk to me after the launch!!