iPhone Rumored to Get 200MP Camera Like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra

[techno-Zen]

I'm over cameras on smart phones. I just want a good phone/device experience. They never end up being great

Give me a foldable, anything else to me is boring at this point.

 

[crisneat]

For years, the common response when comparing iPhone cameras to higher-megapixel competitors like Samsung was that megapixels aren’t everything that sensor size, noise control, low-light performance, and image processing matter more. And that’s still true.

But now it seems Apple is also exploring the high-megapixel route. It’ll be interesting to see how they balance resolution with their usual focus on overall image quality.

 

[mozumder]

What would help more is a powerful direct flash. Just extremely powerful like on a professional red carpet camera, not just the tiny pocket cameras. Not sure how viable that is on the back of a phone these days but I suspect LEDs are getting powerful enough to do that.

 

[Falhófnir]

There is very little practical use for the average user to have 200MP photos. Even in HEIF, they'd still weigh in at several hundred megs an image, so unless you opt for the TB storage option on your phone, enjoy all 36 photos you can take at that resolution 🤣

Pixel binning? Lossless digital zoom? Maybe true 200MP photos could be a bit impractical, but a 200MP sensor opens up a lot of flexibility for photography...

 

[BGrifter]

I don’t think I’ve cared about a camera upgrade since the iPhone 5s.

I am not a professional photographer and do not aspire to be one.

 

[Icehawk]

Wow... There's a lot of other aspect to the camera I'd love to see them really focus on dramatic improvements for. I don't think jump to 200MP actually matters. If the sensor is good at 200MP and comes with other steps up... Go on.

 

[bunce66]

Anything beyond 100 MP is largely irrelevant for 99.99999% of use cases. All this will do is make massive files for each picture. There are other ways to make the cameras better than simply jacking up megapixels.

 

[Spunk Bubble]

200 fake megapixels just like samsung?

 

[Jadzea97]

Samsung introduce a 200M pixel camera in 2023, Apple are testing one in 2025.

Wow. Just wow.

 

[0rangeSwan]

What I would find the most enticing is reducing the post-processing and making photos look more natural again.

Just use the RAW option, bigger photos, less processing

 

[klasma]

Just use the RAW option, bigger photos, less processing

Only available on Pro models, which I have no interest in, and I don’t want to have to add a whole workflow afterwards just to take some pictures. I simply don’t like how unnatural photos nowadays tend to look like.

 

[avkills]

Pixel binning? Lossless digital zoom? Maybe true 200MP photos could be a bit impractical, but a 200MP sensor opens up a lot of flexibility for photography...

If you need that flexibility, then you should be using a DLSR like the rest of the professional world does.

 

[ab2c4]

As a basic camera user do I really need 200mp?

 

[poematik13]

they should be chasing color science, noise/sensitivty, and the ability to turn off all processing/filters, which is the #1 reason why phone cameras still look like trash compared to a real camera.

resolution is just for marketing and dumb people

Wont ever happen, but would be cool to see a $599 Magsafe Pro Module that attaches to the back of the phone, providing an additional battery, 2x USB-C for power and data seperately, dual memory card slots, 3.5mm audio in/out, full size HDMI, and multiple 3/8" screwholes for rigging and mounting.

 

[ignatius345]

With a 200-megapixel camera, an iPhone would be able to shoot photos with greater detail much more rapidly fill up on-device and iCloud storage quotas.

Fixed it. I remain convinced that a big part of the push for "more megapixels" is driven by the fact that image files get massive and chew through storage, which means you have to a) get more onboard storage; and/or b) pay for a higher tier of iCloud storage.

 

[TechRunner]

Ultimately, the upgraded camera specification could be at least a few years away.

"Siri, set an alarm for 2035."

 

[tomtad]

I know I'm in the minority, but I just don't care about the cameras, and there is nothing they can add in that department that would prompt me to upgrade. Sorry Apple, you need to do something more interesting.

..and my 12MP DSLR will smoke a 20MP or 200MP phone camera, from any manufacturer.

Which is why I'm pleased about the upcoming Air, for once there'll be a Pro level phone which doesn't have to have all the weight of multiple cameras

 

[salz4life]

They could put 1000 MPs on there and I'd still take horrendous photos. LOL

 

[bluecoast]

It would certainly let them use the ‘ultra’ label. That and a huge battery hopefully.

With the air forthcoming, the ultra could glory in its being as heavy and dense as a gold ingot.

 

[matzoek]

I always wondered: Why 200? Why not 256 and follow in step?

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Samsung introduce a 200M pixel camera in 2023, Apple are testing one in 2025.

Wow. Just wow.

Shouldn’t really be that shocking.
Nokia had a phone with a 43 megapixel camera when Apple was still on 8 MP, Samsung moved to 12 and 48 MP years before Apple.

 

[Dirty Mac]

Unless they can stuff a 1" sensor in the phone, what's the point of the stupidly large mp's in a tiny sensor?

 

[cocky jeremy]

I don't give a **** about megapixels. Give us larger sensors.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Endless struggle of how many photons can hit your sensor. More megapixels on a sensor that isn't really large won't take great photos due to lack of photons and electrical noise. Basic science.

But the better the situation, the more I like it. I used to lug my Canon around all the time, but now I just live with the iPhone (which has continued to improve). Have won a few photo contests with it. Drastically helps that I ALWAYS have my iPhone with me.

 

[Jensend]

..and my 12MP DSLR will smoke a 20MP or 200MP phone camera, from any manufacturer.

a camera with a bigger sensor and larger lens would smoke a tiny sensor with small lens? who knew?

People who think that 200mp means better than 12mp when it's the sensor and the glass that makes the difference, but those don't market as well.

Megapixels aren't the *only* thing that matter, but I think that the people have gone overboard in the opposite direction in claiming MP doesn't matter.

The main 50MP sensor in my Pixel 8 Pro can take sharper, more detailed photos than my 20MP Full Frame Canon DSLR with an "L" lens of equivalent focal length. I tested this by taking a landscape photo in raw mode with each camera from the same position. The Pixel photo even had less image noise than the DSLR that was set to ISO 100.

The DSLR will do much better in low light with short shutter speeds, and natural bokeh looks much nicer than simulated bokeh, but I've been impressed that the tiny Pixel camera can surpass the DSLR in *some* ways.