Quadrupling pixel count on the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultra-wide camera will significantly improve image quality, according to a new report from a reputable analyst.
Ming Chi-Kuo, the pretty reliable Apple analyst, is out with a new Medium article discussing his predictions regarding Apple’s 2024 smartphones.
In it, he says the next iPhone’s ultra-wide camera will receive the biggest upgrade yet, swapping the current 12-megapixel sensor for a new 48-megapixel one.
If Kuo is correct, the iPhone 16 Pros will use 48-megapixel sensors for the main and ultra-wide cameras, with only the telephoto lens stuck with 12 megapixels.
iPhone 16 Pros could get a 48MP ultra-wide camera
That’s not the only imaging upgrade rumored for the ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. According to the analyst, the new 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera will use a smaller sensor with a smaller pixel size.
The iPhone 16 Pros ultra-wide camera:
- Sensor resolution: 48MP
- Pixel size: 0.7um
- Sensor size: 1/2.6”
The iPhone 15 Pros ultra-wide camera:
- Sensor resolution: 12MP
- Pixel size: 1.0um
- Sensor size: 1/3.6”
Like with the main 48-megapixel camera, the upgraded ultra-wide shooter will use pixel binning t combine four pixels into one. This results in increased light sensitivity for low-light photos, which has been an Achille’s heel of the ultra-wide camera.
Pixel binning
As a result, the new ultra-wide camera will produce a 12 or 24-megapixel final output image when shooting in 0.5 mode unless you change the settings to enable 48-megapixel capture in Apple’s ProRAW format, which allows for greater creative control when editing photos. That’s precisely how the 48-megapixel main camera on the iPhone 14 Pros, iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pros works out of the box.
“The expected output specification is 12MP, which will significantly improve image quality,” Kuo wrote. The increased camera resolution should also improve macro photography. Kuo expects the upgraded camera to use a six-element lens design.
Kuo’s report corroborates an earlier prediction from Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu, who said last year that Apple will equip the iPhone 16 Pro models with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor.
More camera updates for future iPhones
Kuo went on to predict that Apple will source a lens for the upgraded camera from Genius, which makes the ultra-wide lens for Huawei’s new P70 smartphone series. Genius is also the supplier of pancake lenses for Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
He also reiterated his earlier reporting calling for the same tetraprism 5x telephoto camera on this year’s iPhone 16 Pros as last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max.
While the iPhone 16 lineup should retain the current 12-megapixel front shooter, Kuo is convinced that 2025’s iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models will boost the front sensor to 24 megapixels and a six-element lens for crisper, higher-quality selfies.