Apple's 'iPhone 13 Pro' to gain new ultra wide camera with autofocus, says Kuo

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the forthcoming "iPhone 13 Pro" will feature a new ultra wide camera lens, whose autofocusing will help take sharper images.

Following his recent report that the "iPhone 13" range will feature impressive new features, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has specified what he expects one of them to be. Based on what he describes as "our latest industry survey," Kuo has identified a new supplier, G-Shank.

"G-Shank is a professional metal stamping and tooling manufacturer," says Kuo in a note to investors seen by AppleInsider. G-Shank has exclusively obtained orders from Largan for the iPhone VCM [voice coil motor]."

Apple has previously been reported to have ordered precision "iPhone 13" lenses from Largan. The work includes use of VCMs, which are camera components that directly aid focusing.

"We predict that all four 2H22 new iPhones will support AF in their ultra-wide cameras," continues Kuo. "Among the 2H21 new iPhones, the two high-end iPhone Pro series models have AF support for ultra-wide cameras."

"Based on Apple's past camera upgrade pattern," says Kuo, "we believe that all four 2H22 new iPhones will have AF support for ultra-wide cameras."

Separately, Kuo has recently predicted that the 2022 "iPhone 14" range will include a 48MP camera. He's also said that the will be no "iPhone 14 mini," which has led to reports of the smaller iPhone being dropped from Apple's plans. Recent leaked images suggest that there will be an "iPhone 13 mini," however.

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10 Comments

JaiOh81 61 comments · 8 Years

About 3 years ago

I hope he’s right but regardless I’ll be swapping my 12 Pro Max for the 13 Pro Max

mike1 3431 comments · 10 Years

Apple seems to spend a lot more time working with the wide and ultra-wide lenses.

Might just be me, but I rarely, if ever, wished I was further away from a subject I was photographing. I usually want to be closer.

Wish they would focus (pun definitely intended) on zoom capabilities. That was a key reason I picked up a 12 Pro last year.

charlesn 1153 comments · 11 Years

mike1 said:

Apple seems to spend a lot more time working with the wide and ultra-wide lenses.
Might just be me, but I rarely, if ever, wished I was further away from a subject I was photographing. I usually want to be closer.
Wish they would focus (pun definitely intended) on zoom capabilities. That was a key reason I picked up a 12 Pro last year.

The wide lens (essentially the "normal" lens on iPhone) and ultra wide are the lenses people use most often, so Apple expends most of its efforts on those lenses. As for optical zoom, I don't understand why Apply lags so far behind Samsung here, maxing out at 2.5x in the 12 Pro Max vs 10x for Galaxy 21S Ultra. The main reason I don't use zoom more often on my 12 Pro Max is because it offers so little additional "reach," at least in terms of purely optical zoom.

tmay 6455 comments · 11 Years

mike1 said:

Apple seems to spend a lot more time working with the wide and ultra-wide lenses.
Might just be me, but I rarely, if ever, wished I was further away from a subject I was photographing. I usually want to be closer.
Wish they would focus (pun definitely intended) on zoom capabilities. That was a key reason I picked up a 12 Pro last year.

Apple is definitely rumored to have folded optic imaging on their roadmap, but you might be best waiting for the rumored 48 Mp imager in the iPhone 14.

I'm on an iPhone 7 Plus, and passed on upgrading to the 12, when I read rumors at that time of variable screen refresh that coming to the iPhone 13, so that's what I'm waiting for.

retrogusto 1138 comments · 16 Years

mike1 said:

Apple seems to spend a lot more time working with the wide and ultra-wide lenses.
Might just be me, but I rarely, if ever, wished I was further away from a subject I was photographing. I usually want to be closer.
Wish they would focus (pun definitely intended) on zoom capabilities. That was a key reason I picked up a 12 Pro last year.

Agreed. The ultrawide seems like more of a gimmick, whereas the “telephoto” is only a 52mm equivalent in full-frame measurement, which means it’s not particularly tele except when compared to the other options—it shows things almost exactly as they appear in real life. I know I often see people pinching to zoom in when photographing, and most of the time I want to see things as they appear, or closer, and the tele is best for landscapes and portraits because it distorts the least. If the Mini came with a tele instead of an ultrawide, I would have bought it, but no tele was a dealbreaker for me. I figured they save the tele for the most expensive cameras because they want strong features to distinguish the top-tier models, but they can easily throw in an ultrawide as a nice-to-have feature that almost nobody is going to pay a few hundred extra for.