Kuo: iPhone 13 Now More Likely to Get Upgraded Ultra Wide Camera With Improved Low-Light Performance

The iPhone 13 is now more likely to feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera with significantly improved low-light performance, thanks to lens verification improvements and intensified competition in Apple's camera supply chain, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iphone 12 pro gold
In his latest TFI Securities investor note, seen by MacRumors, Kuo says that Chinese supplier Sunny Optical's iPad 5P lens verification has gone smoothly and it has learned a lot from the process, meaning that the probability of it shipping a 7P Wide Angle lens for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 in the second half of 2021 has increased significantly.

Kuo expects Sunny to begin mass shipments of its ‌iPad‌ 5P lens in the middle of the first quarter of 2021, supplying Apple with around 15% of those parts due to limited initial production capacity. It is not specified in the report which ‌iPad‌ model the 5P lens is destined for, but shipment proportion for both 5P and 7P lenses is expected to further increase to between 15-20% and 25-30% in 2022.

According to Kuo, Sunny Optical's greater competition will also put pressure on Largan, which is currently fueling a price war due to its significant technological advantages over other ‌iPhone‌ lens suppliers.

Back in November, Kuo predicted that the Ultra Wide cameras on the two high-end ‌iPhone‌ 13 models will be significantly upgraded to f/1.8, 6P (six-element lens) with autofocus. All the current ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ models are equipped with f/2.4, 5P (five-element lens) Ultra Wide cameras with fixed focus.

However, Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Thomas O'Malley have since suggested all four ‌iPhone‌ 13 models will feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera lens with a wider ƒ/1.8 aperture, 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.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

windywalks Avatar
58 months ago
Maybe I'm jaded, but tiptoeing towards upgrading the three cameras one by one in subsequent iterations looks like nothing but a money grab. Sure, Apple is all about the profits, can't blame them, they're not a charity, but these tiny upgrades in subsequent generations just look silly.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hjalnar Avatar
58 months ago
Why do people care about/like the ultra wide camera? I find it to be the most useless out of the 3, and quite frankly would much rather have 5x or 10x than 0.5x. If the iPhone 12 had 1x and 2x I would buy it over the pro, the only thing that makes its camera system VERY underwhelming is having that pointless 0.5x
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roller Avatar
58 months ago
Better camera performance is great, but it's going to take more than that, a smaller notch, or some other non-functional design change to interest me in an upgrade. An effective under-screen fingerprint sensor, for example.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LFC2020 Avatar
58 months ago

Maybe I'm jaded, but tiptoeing towards upgrading the three cameras one by one in subsequent iterations looks like nothing but a money grab. Sure, Apple is all about the profits, can't blame them, they're not a charity, but these tiny upgrades in subsequent generations just look silly.
That’s why a lot of people don’t upgrade every year anymore, smartphone market has matured, I’ll be keeping my 12 pro max for another year when the 12s/13 arrives, then hello you sexy thing apple foldable iPhone 2023 ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
profets Avatar
58 months ago
Sounds like it’s going to be a solid S year (not that anything is wrong with that - S years usually give a lot of nice improvements).
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WWPD Avatar
58 months ago
My iPhoneX has been a good investment, the longest I have ever held onto an iPhone. Looks like it will be at least another year. Better low light performance is good but not enough to sway me. Give me a 120Hz screen and no notch and I'm sold.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)