All of this year’s iPhones will come with upgraded selfie cameras, potentially offering better low-light photography. The details come from a report out today by Ming-Chi Kuo, a known Apple analyst at TF International Securities, as reported by MacRumors.
Apple will replace the 7-megapixel front cameras on its iPhones with 12-megapixel cameras without reducing the size of the pixels, states the report. This step from Apple would make the megapixel count on the front camera fall in line with the rear-mounted cameras. Kuo also expects Apple to add a slightly faster lens at the front, which is supposed to help with low-light photography.
The report also adds that Apple will use a black coating on the camera on some of the iPhones in order to help them blend in with the outside of the device. However, this is not a new idea since Samsung already does this with some devices to hide the front camera within the bezels. It does not make the lenses disappear entirely, although it does make it inconspicuous at a casual glance.
In addition to upgraded selfie cameras, the new iPhones are also expected to get upgraded rear cameras. The successor of iPhone XR is said to add another lens at the back, making it a dual-camera device, while the flagship iPhones are expected to come with a triple camera setup, the leaks of which have been crowding the internet. Kuo also predicts that Apple will include larger pixels on the standard wide-angle rear camera, which could also aid in snapping better low-light photos.
As mentioned above, Kuo reiterates that this year’s biggest upgrades in terms of the camera are to come with the successor of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. These models are expected to add a third camera, a super wide-angle lens, which will make the new iPhones stand out.
Since most of the flagship smartphones nowadays come with a triple rear camera setup, it only makes sense for Apple to venture into the same space. Huawei even upped the ante with the addition of a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor on the back to get a better measurement of depth for portrait photos.
While all of these additional hardware configurations add significant capabilities to the smartphone, the real question is what these companies are doing about their image processing software. Huawei has delivered some exceptional low-light photos, digital zoom, and improved portrait mode blur. So, while the addition of lenses and the increase in the megapixel count would help Apple stand up to the competition, what the company will be able to achieve by utilizing all these hardware configurations would count.
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