Although the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro aren’t scheduled to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors flying around about Apple’s next superphone. From larger display sizes to new processors, the next iPhone could come with a series of upgrades. But I’m a photographer, so what I’m most excited about is the camera.
Apple has always packed iPhones with some of the best cameras you can put in a smartphone, and with 5x optical zoom, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the best camera phones money can buy right now. will continue to be.
read more: The best iPhone to buy in 2024
But with so much competition, especially in the photography field, Apple will likely be looking for ways to keep its phone’s photography skills top-notch. Now, let’s dig into the rumors about the iPhone 16 series’ cameras.
New physical camera button
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max add a new “Actions” button on the outer edge of the phone that can be customized to perform various actions like launching the camera or creating a voice memo.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s action button may get a new physical camera button.
but Suggested by MacRumors The next model will have additional buttons aimed specifically at photographers. The button acts as the camera’s shutter, with multiple levels of sensitivity, allowing you to focus with a half press and capture an image with a full press. Rumor has it that the button will recognize swipe gestures and allow you to zoom in or out with a left or right swipe.
Previously, you could use the volume button to trigger the camera shutter, but this new button gives you deeper camera control, allowing you to operate your iPhone more like a compact digital camera.
Improved zoom on all Pro models
According to Apple analysts Ming Chi Kuo, The base iPhone 16 Pro is equipped with a 5x optical zoom lens. This was only available on the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max, so it would be nice to have the same zoom level in a smaller, pocket-friendly package.
The 10x zoom on the S23 and S24 Ultra may conflict.
However, with previous rumors suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be upgraded, it’s possible that both phones will be. “Super telephoto” lens Provides zoom levels beyond the current 5x range. This is a welcome addition for sports and wildlife photographers who rely on long zoom levels, but these rumors were circulating last summer, when the iPhone 15 launch was still around the corner.
larger image sensor
according to MacRumors Story, covers a claim from a Weibo user’s digital chat station, that the iPhone 16 Pro’s main camera may have a larger image sensor. This is obviously 1/1.14 inch in size, which is larger than the 1/1.28 inch sensor found in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
It’s great to see such a large size because a larger sensor captures more light and image information, allowing for greater detail, dynamic range, and improved low-light performance. And since phones like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra already use a larger 1/0.98-inch (known as the 1-inch type) image sensor for the main camera, it’s smart for Apple to play up its game here. Dew.
The large image sensor of Xiaomi 14 Ultra makes it powerful for taking photos.
High resolution ultra wide angle camera
The iPhone’s ultra-wide camera has remained at a 12-megapixel resolution since iPhone 11, and it’s felt a bit neglected over the past few generations. However, according to a report by renowned analyst Jeff Pugh, Seen on 9to5Macsays that both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max’s ultrawide cameras will be significantly improved up to 48 megapixels.
Vertical camera arrangement
Various rumors and leaked renders suggest that the base iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models will have a vertical camera layout, rather than a diagonal one like the iPhone 15. That would make the design more similar to the iPhone 12, but the big reason this could happen goes beyond simple aesthetics.
Such a vertical camera layout allows the phone to use information from both cameras to create a 3D-like effect, making it easier to shoot spatial videos. This makes sense, considering that Apple introduced spatial videography to the iPhone 15 Pro series, but not to the base model of the iPhone 15, perhaps due to the camera layout.
Spatial video looked good on an Apple Vision Pro headset.
Spatial videos look like regular 2D videos when played on an iPhone, but are designed to give a 3D effect when played on Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
What else would you like to see?
Apple’s WWDC event will be held on June 10th, where the company is expected to put the finishing touches on iOS 18. AI is predicted to be a big part of new software, and it’s very likely that AI skills will be extended to cameras as well. iPhone cameras already use AI to varying degrees for things like computational photography, skin tone reproduction, depth mapping, and even automatic settings when taking images.
But deeper AI means better scene recognition and better use of settings and processing to capture better-looking images. He’s also impressed with the AI object removal seen on the Google Pixel series, and similar AI-based editing tools may appear on his next iPhone.
Speaking of editing, Apple may introduce more ways to edit videos on your phone, especially if you shoot with Log on the 15 Pro and Pro Max. Log videos are designed to look flat and gray when they are filmed, as this provides a better base for later editing and adding color and contrast.
iPhone footage recorded in the Log color space must be edited on a computer or iPad. It would be nice to have more options for processing this footage on the iPhone itself.
Currently, editing Log video with software like BlackMagic’s DaVinci Resolve requires transferring the footage to an iPad or computer, so it’s interesting to see Apple introduce more ways to process Log footage on your phone. It would be good to see. Perhaps it will even introduce its own set of “LUTs” (presets used to quickly apply color and contrast to videos) to the iPhone’s editing tools.
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