iPhone 13 Expected to Feature Upgraded Ultra Wide Camera With Significantly Improved Low-Light Performance

All four iPhone 13 models will feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera lens with a wider ƒ/1.8 aperture, compared to ƒ/2.4 on iPhone 12 models, Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Thomas O'Malley said in an investor note shared with MacRumors.

In an investor note with TF International Securities in November, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also claimed that the Ultra Wide lens will be upgraded to an ƒ/1.8 aperture, but only on iPhone 13 Pro models, so there is conflicting information as to exactly how many models will get the lens upgrade. Kuo expects the upgraded Ultra Wide lens to expand to the rest of the flagship iPhone lineup in the second half of 2022.

A wider aperture would allow for more light to pass through the lens, with the move from a ƒ/2.4 to ƒ/1.8 aperture likely to result in significantly improved low-light performance when shooting in Ultra Wide mode on iPhone 13 models.

Barclays also claimed that the iPhone 12 Pro Max's upgraded Telephoto lens will expand to the standard iPhone 13 Pro, with a 65mm focal length and ƒ/2.2 aperture, a move that is expected to benefit chipmaker Cirrus Logic given that it would be supplying Apple with a camera controller for an additional iPhone model starting later this year.

Apple is expected to stick with the same display sizes and camera setups for the iPhone 13 lineup, including 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch models with dual-lens cameras and 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models with triple-lens cameras. Other rumored camera features include the expansion of the LiDAR Scanner and sensor-shift image stabilization to more models.