Kuo: iPhone 14 Pro's Larger Camera Bump Due to New 48MP Camera System

[Radeon85]

It's crazy how long it's been since Apple increased the MP on the iPhones. I know megapixels aren't everything but we've been at 12 for what feels like ages.

Seems the first iPhone with 12MP was the 6S way back in 2015, so unless it gets a bump this year that will be 7yrs with the same size, absolutely ridiculous now. MP certainly isn't everything but with 4K pretty common now and 8K very slowly taking off 12MP is just too small.

 

[SpringKid]

And what other advantages does the 48 mp camera have besides 8K video?

Cropping with less loss in image quality.

 

[ilikewhey]

lol pulling 48mp shot images through a lighting port.

 

[paulovsouza]

Wasn’t the rumor that there wouldn’t be a camera bumb..

 

[darngooddesign]

They don’t really seem to have any new ideas do they..

It’s just “make the camera better” every year

A fine goal, but at some point we hit diminishing returns I think

We are a long way from diminishing goals when it comes to phone cameras.

 

[orderoftheditch]

35MP in that sensor size isn’t going to do much for me, I will get much better quality photos of my full frame 28MP camera with proper glass for a very long time to come.
I upgraded last year from 11PM to 13PM, so need convincing features to spend 1.5k again this year.

And?
This isn’t designed to replace a proper camera. For situations where I don’t have an SLR or mirrorless I want the best camera possible in my pocket.
I was merely pointing out why 8K video might be better than 4K in a phone.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

For the usual “why don’t they make it flush?”: your daily reminder that no one would buy a 14mm thick phone.

All those who sling "just put it in a case" in answer to the want for flush and "non-wobble" are essentially making their phone 1Xmm thick... via TWO purchases.

 

[Cwoods]

Why not taper the phone? Make it flush but thick at the camera and thinner at the bottom.

 

[44267547]

Why not taper the phone? Make it flush but thick at the camera and thinner at the bottom.

That’s been a discussion for years. Although it would be more aesthetically pleasing, it wouldn’t matter when consumers put a case on the phone anyways, therefore it essentially makes the ‘camera bump’ an afterthought. Right?

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Just give me 5x optical zoom at least. Ideally 10x.

 

[turbineseaplane]

We are a long way from diminishing goals when it comes to phone cameras.

Very subjective for sure

I'm totally fine with any of the iPhone cameras of the last couple years.

 

[hagjohn]

To remove the bump and make the back flat again.

Not until camera tech takes a leap and gets smaller.

I had a Nokia 1020 with a 41 MP and took great pics. We have come a long way since them.

 

[r_123]

48 megapixels is 4x the resolution of Apple's existing 12mp sensors. In ideal lighting conditions the sensor can operate at true 48mp capacity and either capture more detail or extend the reach of the digital zoom without sacrificing image quality or detail if outputting at 12mp. In poorer lighting situations a 48mp sensor can employ a technique called pixel binning where groups of four pixels essentially act as one larger pixel to output a 12mp image. The larger 4x binned pixels can capture more light and thus produce better dynamic range with less image noise.

Essentially you get the combination of greater detail and/or digital zoom in ideal light inherent with higher megapixel counts while keeping the image quality gains afforded by larger pixel pitches/lower megapixel counts in low light situations.

yeah... the 48mp would bring us 2x digital "zoom" without loss of quality at 12mp. so let's hope the tele camera will be at least 5x then. 3x wouldn't make any sense, i think. but 5x... they'd need to implement a periscope camera, i believe.

 

[brofkand]

The camera bump is lazy engineering. Steve would not have allowed it on the iPhone 6, let alone today with the horrible tumors on the back of phones now.

 

[FourDegrees]

Oh how I yearn for the days when a phone was a phone! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite but really, who needs a 48Mp camera on a phone, never mind all the bells and whistles that suck up power.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite but really, who needs a 48Mp camera on a phone, never mind all the bells and whistles that suck up power.

I agree
I honestly hope they keep further splitting the Pro line out to do all this, in my view, total overkill in some areas.

A friend of mine with babies (moar camera! gotta have!!) handed me his 13 Pro Max and I was just like -- blown away -- I can't believe he totes that patio paver around all the time, in and out of jackets and cup holders in the car... It's just a massive dense and unwieldy thing (to me)

 

[128KMac]

And what other advantages does the 48 mp camera have besides 8K video?

Much better digital zoom, at a minimum

 

[skitidetdu]

Put it in a case and it is flush ?‍♂️

 

[turbineseaplane]

The camera bump is lazy engineering. Steve would not have allowed it on the iPhone 6, let alone today with the horrible tumors on the back of phones now.

A cynical observer of Apple might even speculate that there were internal discussions about how it would likely increase sales of their first party cases (to get a flat back again, as well as protect the camera "module")

 

[128KMac]

I agree
I honestly hope they keep further splitting the Pro line out to do all this, in my view, total overkill in some areas.

A friend of mine with babies (moar camera! gotta have!!) handed me is 13 Pro Max and I was just like -- blown away -- I can't believe he totes that patio paver around all the time, in and out of jackets and cup holders in the car... It's just a massive dense and unwieldy thing (to me)

Interesting. I have a 12 Pro Max and the size is fine. Will maybe get the 14 Pro Max if the 48 MP camera is a real thing

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have a 12 Pro Max and the size is fine.

That's the REALLY subjective part

Who you are, how you use your devices, on and on and on

My big knock on Apple w/ the iPhone is that they are only really making "large" and "huge" phones now.

(apparently the Mini got dropped for 14 -- I hope they rejigger something at that spot that perhaps will sell better for them -- I think it was probably too expensive)

It's ok - if not outright really good - to have some models that fill niches that don't "sell like wildfire every single year". A lot of folks that want scaled back phones are also the types that maybe don't buy them too often. Year to year sales is a tough way to analyze that crowd and providing options for them.

 

[128KMac]

so the selling point will be 8k video? will the iPhone pro screen be in 8k too? why is the Studio display only 5k? and my home TV only 4k?
I do know that Pro's move over to 8k, but what's the point for the iPhone?
Better tele zoom capabilities would be a selling point for me, but 8k is not ...

How much better will a 12X digital zoom be with a 48 MP camera vs. a 12 MP camera? I’m thinking that works out to four times as dense a zoom?

 

[Scoob Redux]

Like this?
View attachment 1982029

No, like this:

 

[GoodWheaties]

Low light photography.

Low light pictures are not improved by more pixels (if the same size sensor). The opposite is more likely true. What could be more likely is they use the extra pixels to “zoom” on one sensor and then bump the telephoto to say a 5x or higher.

 

[jz0309]

How much better will a 12X digital zoom be with a 48 MP camera vs. a 12 MP camera? I’m thinking that works out to four times as dense a zoom?

it's optical zoom that really matters ... as small a pixel size in a small sensor will not give you what you're looking for