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Base iPhone 15 models will get 48 megapixel cameras, says Kuo

iPhone 14 Pro camera bump


Last updated

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the forthcoming iPhone 15 will get a 48mp wide angle lens, and that Apple's orders for it mean manufacturer Sony is having to cut back on sales to Android firms.

Kuo says specifically that the base or "standard models" of the iPhone 15 range will get this new camera. That partly backs up recent rumors that the whole range will be upgraded to 48mp, but Kuo does not mention the iPhone 15 Pro models — given that the iPhone 14 Pro already has them, most likely.

"The wide camera CIS [Contact Image Sensors] of the two iPhone 15 standard models will be upgraded to 48MP and adopt a new stacked CIS design," writes Kuo in his full report on Medium.

Sony is producing the camera lens and as previously reported, is having difficulties with manufacturing the volumes needed.

"Due to the low yield rate, Sony has increased the CIS production capacity for Apple by 100-120% to meet Apple's demand," continues Kuo, "resulting in a significant reduction in high-end CIS supply for Android."

Kuo further says that it's not only Sony's production capacity that is being stretched by Apple orders, but so its R&D resources. He expects that to have an impact on Android manufacturers, and consequently on Sony's rivals in the field.

There may also be an impact on Apple, however. Recently it was reported that issues with the 48mp camera could cause production delays.



29 Comments

eriamjh 18 Years · 1777 comments

Mega is M, milli is m.

Yeah, I know what you meant, but standards are standards,

accsmobi 2 Years · 10 comments

This weird obssesion,this fetish with bigger and bigger cameras on phones, with truckloads of megapixels,just to take a pic of your cat,or a sloppy selfie, is getting out of hand already . 

The camera on the original iPhone SE was more than enough. But nooo,snob teenagers want moar ,moar! 

BiCC 2 Years · 59 comments

eriamjh said:
Mega is M, milli is m.

Yeah, I know what you meant, but standards are standards,

Hahahaha!! That's a funny one, standards are standards, no room for argument in that one!

libertyandfree 12 Years · 192 comments

accsmobi said:
This weird obssesion,this fetish with bigger and bigger cameras on phones, with truckloads of megapixels,just to take a pic of your cat,or a sloppy selfie, is getting out of hand already . 
The camera on the original iPhone SE was more than enough. But nooo,snob teenagers want moar ,moar! 

Wow you must joking.  I am not a teenager nor millennial and I definitely want better iPhone cameras.  Ideal situation is to have an 6-8x zoom with great low light sensitivity and high pixel density that can replace my stand alone Sony alpha camera.  I know we are still a few generations away from this but I suspect we will get there.  

saarek 17 Years · 1588 comments

accsmobi said:
This weird obssesion,this fetish with bigger and bigger cameras on phones, with truckloads of megapixels,just to take a pic of your cat,or a sloppy selfie, is getting out of hand already . 
The camera on the original iPhone SE was more than enough. But nooo,snob teenagers want moar ,moar! 

With respect, I disagree. The quality of photos from an iPhone really started being "good" from around the iPhone 6S and up, at least in my opinion. I have taken thousands of photos of my children growing up and of course I'll continue to take thousands more.

In the future, when I look back, I'll appreciate the extra quality that I got with each upgrade (roughly every 4 years for me). Comparing the pictures from my iPhone 4S to my iPhone 14 Pro Max is simply a night and day difference. Yes, the original iPhone SE had a pretty decent camera. But it cannot hold a candle to my current phone.