The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be more expensive than their predecessors. That’s what all the rumors say and the claim makes in the current economic context. But Apple is going for a significant differentiation between the regular iPhone 14 models and the Pros that can justify the price hike. And the camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro models will be one of those differentiating factors, with low-light photography supposed to get a significant boost on the Pro models.
The rumor comes from well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who provided more details about the ultra-wide camera that Apple will use on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. His claims further indicate that low-light photography is a priority for Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro experience.
Kuo said in previous remarks that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will get a 48-megapixel wide camera. Apple will use pixel-binning tech in low-lit environments to merge four pixels into a larger one. The iPhone 14 Pro will still output 12-megapixel photos in such a scenario. But they will capture more light.
Kuo’s new iPhone 14 camera claim concerns the ultra-wide camera. According to him, the ultra-wide sensor will have larger pixels, at 1.4μm compared to 1.0μm for the iPhone 13 Pro’s ultra-wide sensor. Other components will also see upgrades this year, resulting in significant price increases for the ultra-wide camera parts.
If these iPhone 14 camera details are accurate, the regular models will not get the same wide and ultra-wide camera upgrades.
But it’s not like the regular iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pros have identical camera systems. The Pro models feature better wide and ultra wide cameras, as you’ll see below.
iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max camera specs:
- Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
- Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture
- Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture and 120° field of view
- Dual optical image stabilization (Telephoto and Wide)
- Sensor‑shift optical image stabilization (Wide)
- Six‑element lens (Telephoto and Ultra Wide); seven‑element lens (Wide)
iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 camera specs
- Wide: ƒ/1.6 aperture
- Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view
- Sensor‑shift optical image stabilization (Wide)
- Seven‑element lens (Wide); five‑element lens (Ultra Wide)
Apple doesn’t mention pixel size in its iPhone camera specs. Still, you can see differences between the two camera systems when it comes to aperture and the number of elements.
Separately, iPhone 14 rumors say the camera modules will take up more space on the back. The camera bump will also be thicker than before. That implies upgrades to the camera modules, which should be larger than before. In turn, this supports pixel size and elements claims. The iPhone 14 Pro telephoto lens should feature 7 elements instead of 6.
Even if Kuo’s iPhone 14 Pro camera claims wouldn’t be accurate, we still expect Apple to offer different hardware for the wide and ultra-wide cameras on the Pro compared to the regular models. On top of that, the iPhone 14 Pros will also feature a telephoto lens for zooming and a LiDAR camera that can also help with low-light photography.
More iPhone coverage: For more iPhone news, visit our iPhone 14 guide.
