In a recent preview article, a notable iPhone third-party camera app, Halide, highlights the hardware changes in the new iPhone 14 Pro camera.
Apple released the iPhone 6s model in September 2015, its first device with a 12-megapixel primary camera sensor. While subsequent iPhones have taken better pictures, the primary camera’s pixel count has remained the same — until last week.
The newly unveiled iPhone 14 Pro models now spot a massive 48MP primary camera sensor at the back. Besides increasing the primary camera’s pixel count, Apple also made several subtle changes to the entire camera setup.
Be that as it may, Halide’s Sebastian de With notes that photography breakthroughs today are not just about hardware. Software quality and processing power also play a significant role, especially in computational photography.
It allows advancement in night photography, exposure, and dynamic range. In other words, you can’t get a complete picture by assessing a new iPhone on its hardware alone.
That said, here’s Halide’s breakdown of the hardware changes in the iPhone 14 Pro’s camera.
iPhone 14 Pro Camera: The Wide Camera Lens Gets Wider, and Ultra Wide Gets Better
The publication claims that the Wide camera lens on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is slightly wider than its predecessor, with a 2mm focal length difference.
On the other hand, the lens’s aperture is now a bit smaller, meaning it’ll collect less light. According to Halide, the smaller aperture is necessary to work with the iPhone’s larger sensor, and that may not be a bad compromise.
Sebastian de With explains:
“We calculate that the Wide camera is able to collect 20% more light compared to last year’s camera, even with this slightly worse aperture, thanks to its larger size.”
The camera expert also pointed out that users can’t natively shoot 48MP images. Instead, they must use the ProRaw option to take full 48MP JPGs.
Although the Telephoto lens didn’t get a significant spec bump from the hardware perspective, Apple seems to have improved the Ultra-Wide lens just a little. Halide noted a larger sensor, higher ISO sensitivity, and a solid low-light improvement.
“Apple actually claimed the greatest improvements to this camera in its keynote, claiming ‘up to 3×’ better images,” says de With.
Finally, the front-facing camera got an upgrade this year. It includes a variable focus and autofocus that’s coming to the iPhone for the first time. Also, the aperture improved slightly to allow “more depth of field and light to reach this little camera.”
