Will the Next iPhone Have a 64-Megapixel Camera?

Will the Next iPhone Have a 64-Megapixel Camera?

It’s definitely not the 108 megapixels of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, but 64 megapixels is a lot of camera to pack into the forthcoming iPhone 12. Rumors have emerged that Apple is testing various sensors for its next flagship phone, which would be quite the bump from the iPhone 11 Pro’s meager offering of 12 megapixels.

YouTube channel EverythingApplePro has reported the news, taking its information from Max Weinbach, a technology journalist who specializes in leaks and either has a number of moles buried in the depths of various manufacturers or is perhaps being deliberately passed information as part of drawn-out marketing strategies. Certainly, if a tech giant doesn’t have something ready to release, it’s always useful to keep tickling customers with information of what might be just around the corner.

The 64-megapixel sensor is made by Sony and it remains to be seen whether the coronavirus outbreak will have implications for the tech industry when it comes to release dates. The camera industry more specifically is already being affected, and with diverse components and complex supply chains, it wouldn’t take much to derail development and push smartphones back by a couple of months.

A few other improvements are described relating to macro photography and night mode.

Do we need 64 megapixels on a smartphone camera? That said, do we need 108 megapixels? Leave your comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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12 Comments

Is this still a 1/2.55 size sensor? I really don't understand why they keep saying Micro 4/3 sensor is so tiny that it's maxed out at 20mp but a sensor that is around 1/8 the size can go to 64 or even 108. Something doesn't add up at all.

I think we'll eventually find out that a lot of smoky numbers are being blown around. But one thing is a constant: the public still things that more megapixels = "better camera".

Pixel size. I doubt that 64 or 108mp photo will look nearly as good as a 24mp photo from a full frame camera at 100% zoom.

Yeah it seems people just want bigger numbers and larger file sizes with no real improvement in resolution.

Current gen phone cameras are amazing. People need to concentrate on using them and getting creative and these phone companies should concentrate on assisting with that, in phone tutorials etc.

Nobody upgrades their iPhone for "in phone tutorials". Current gen stuff is fine—definitely not as good as dedicated cameras in raw optical/sensor quality. The additional megapixels no doubt play into the computational photography angle that smartphones have to play in order to compete with "real" cameras.

Did i say somebody would be upgrading their phone for that feature?

Its a simple suggestion that could implemented into the UI so people can have some basic composition techniques, framing, how to deal with light... there are plenty of other areas within the Apple eco-system where they do similar tips and tricks, why not have photography skills as one of them.

I love the Apple eco system, how all my devices are connected. It pisses me off that I buy one of their phones for $500 to $1000 and 2 years later it stops working for whatever reason and their solution is just buy a new one. Grrrrr

With 12 MP sensor, you can still record 4k video, for 8k video you need to upgrade the sensor.

Phone company execs; 'How do we double the price of our products?" Marketing, "i know we say our camera has more mega pixels!"

This will be a bigger Sony sensor of 1/1 76”