We’re running out of ideas for phone cameras. iPhone 16 Rumors Are More Proof

I (thankfully) dedicate myself to testing almost every high-end mobile phone that comes on the market. And I can’t remember the last time I was surprised by some revolutionary new feature in their camera equipment. I’m convinced that beyond possible sensor improvements (there’s still room here), we’re starting to run out of possible formats.

In fact, some manufacturers are trying to sell us new features that were already present in phones many years ago. This reflection was born in the wake of new rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro camera: don’t expect big news this year.

Megapixels are a great new feature from Apple for 2024. Latest leaks point to a camera change for the iPhone in 2024. The sensor, which will use the ultra-wide-angle lens, will be customized by Sony and has a resolution of 48 megapixels. Apart from this, the main sensor is expected to remain the same.

The full transition to a triple 48-megapixel system will occur in 2025, when the telephoto lens will move to this resolution. Apart from possible changes in the focal length of the latest lens and changes in the size of the main sensor, the plan of action does not intend to change too much.

But the iPhone isn’t alone: ​​we’ve seen mobile phone cameras stagnate for years, both in results and in the hardware itself.

We no longer have room for larger sensors. Let’s be clear: we’re starting to hit a ceiling with sensor size. Talk of a “one-inch” sensor seems new as they haven’t become mainstream yet. But the reality is that these sensors have already been seen in Sharp phones back in 2021 and, again, they are few and far between.

We can improve the sensor structure, processing technology, and so on, but one-inch sensors already represent a significant physical burden on a phone. Their size makes them difficult to implement without huge modules, which makes it more than difficult to increase the size of the remaining sensors and take up space for other components.

We already have the entire range of focal lengths. Our phones are capable of shooting from 16mm (ultra-wide) to, in some cases, almost 1000mm. This is a range of focal lengths that in a professional camera would cost us several thousand euros and several lenses to replace.

We have a rather angular main sensor, an ultra-wide angle for more space and telephoto lenses with three, five, ten times magnification… There are also those who opt for macro, although this is a much less popular function.

It costs less to create software. Taking into account that it is very, very difficult for us to continue to increase the size of sensors, that the quality of the lenses is already excellent, that introducing even more cameras does not seem to make sense, and that photographic equipment has already reached its ceiling for many years, the solution goes through the software security.

Fine-tuning algorithms is usually less expensive than completely rethinking the photo system hardware, and this is what many manufacturers have been doing for years. Problem? Usually. Cameras are set up to take the brightest photos possible, which is usually completely incompatible with the most natural photography.

Thus, we are faced with a curious moment in the history of mobile photography, full of unexpected twists, where it is not so strange to find modern mobile phones that process images worse than phones released one or two years ago.

Image | Hataka

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