As 2022 draws to a close, iPhone 15 rumors are picking up steam. We’ve now got word that Apple could fix an ongoing problem with its iPhone cameras.
A new Nikkei rumor claims that Apple will be working with Sony on the iPhone 15’s camera. The Cupertino phone maker will reportedly use Sony’s new “state-of-the-art” image sensor instead of Samsung’s. This new part from Sony is said to revolutionize the way the iPhone 15 handles exposure controls.
Apple + Sony = super iPhone 15 camera
Nikkei’s report reads, “Compared to conventional sensors, Sony’s new image sensor roughly doubles the saturation signal level per pixel. In other words, the sensor captures more light and reduces Either overexpose or underexpose, making it possible for smartphone cameras to capture faces clearly even when the subject is standing in strong backlight.”
Presumably, Sony has achieved this by placing photodiodes and transistors in separate substrate layers, thus changing our existing semiconductor designs. With this new approach, Sony can add more photodiodes in the layer, thus achieving double saturation signal levels.
No more overexposed shots?
If this is just a bunch of gibberish to you, don’t worry. This basically means that the iPhone 15 addresses some of the iPhone‘s historical exposure weaknesses. While iPhones are often ranked among the best camera phones, we found that they tended to struggle to control exposure in some extreme situations.
The aforementioned iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Pixel 7 Pro camera shootout comparison is a good example. The iPhone 14’s subject’s face is a bit overexposed, while the Pixel 7 Pro handles sunlight better. This is another example of suboptimal exposure on the iPhone 14 Pro compared to the Pixel 7 Pro. In this case, the Pixel 7 Pro exposes the bottom of each light better, while the iPhone’s picture loses detail, not to mention it’s too dark. So this time the exposure is underexposed, even though the light itself is brighter.
What the new Sony sensor means for your photos
For example, if the iPhone 15 uses this new Sony sensor, it could take some incredibly artistic portraits. Imagine your subject has a bright background, but your iPhone can still accurately capture their face and skin tone. So you can get the glow effect without losing subject detail. We’re already excited about the possibilities this upgrade might offer.
Other rumored iPhone 15 upgrades
As for the rest of the iPhone 15 rumors, it’s almost certain that Apple will eventually switch to USB-C for the charging port after the European Union mandates that all smartphones use the USB-C standard. Other rumors suggest that Apple will do away with physical buttons in favor of tactile buttons.
Others say the iPhone 15 Pro could feature a periscope camera for improved zoom photography, helping it catch up to Samsung and Google — trust us, Apple has a long way to go before it can match the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro in telephoto performance way to go.