Kuo: iPhone 13 to Feature Upgraded Ultra Wide Camera for Better Low-Light Performance

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 4 Feb 2021

iPhone 12 Pro Shoot ProRAW

A couple of days after Barclays analyst claimed that Apple would upgrade the ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 13 series, reputed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is also making similar claims. He says that Apple will be using a wider f/1.8 aperture lens for the ultra wide angle shooter on the iPhone 13.

The upgraded lens will allow the iPhone 13 to take sharper and better ultra-wide photos, especially in low-light where the iPhone 12 series currently struggles despite the addition of Night mode. For comparison, the iPhone 12 series currently features an f/2.4 aperture lens for the 12MP ultra-wide shooter. Kuo had previously claimed that Apple will not be making any major camera improvements to the iPhone 13 series this year, with any notable upgrades coming only to the iPhone 13 ‘Pro’ series.

The analyst’s updated prediction is based on the fact that Sunny Optical has successfully been able to verify its new 5P lens for the iPad which in turn has increased the probability of it shipping 7P wide-angle lens for the iPhone 13. Sunny Optical is a long-time supplier of camera lenses to Apple and it is expected to get around 80% of lens orders for the new iPad.

Apart from an upgraded 7P f/1.8 lens for the ultra-wide, Apple is also expected to use the 65mm telephoto sensor from the iPhone 12 Pro Max on the smaller iPhone 13 Pro this year. While the iPhone 13 series might not feature other camera-related hardware upgrades, Apple could still make plenty of underlying changes to improve the photo and video quality.