All iPhone 14 Models Feature New Rear-Facing Ambient Light Sensor - MacRumors
Skip to Content

All iPhone 14 Models Feature New Rear-Facing Ambient Light Sensor

All four iPhone 14 models feature dual ambient light sensors for the first time, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices.

iPhone 14 Pro Rear Camera
According to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, all iPhone 14 models are equipped with a new ambient light sensor on the back of the devices, whereas previous iPhone models only have a single ambient light sensor above the display. Panzarino said the sensor helps to both adjust display brightness and determine exposure for the rear camera system.

In his iPhone 14 Pro review for Mashable, Stan Schroeder said he held an iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro side by side against bright light, and then immediately went into a dark room, and found the 14 Pro was more responsive at adapting the display's brightness.

This is just one of several smaller hardware changes on the iPhone 14 models, with another one being improved GPS accuracy on Pro models.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Around the World

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event that it will be releasing iOS 27 sometime tomorrow – Monday, September 14. iOS 27 won't be the only release on...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Tomorrow With These 8 New Features

Sunday September 13, 2026 4:30 pm PDT by
During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and changes coming with iOS 27, with the main attraction being a...
deep black iphone 18 pro

Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way

Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where. Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S. According...

Top Rated Comments

Squillace Avatar
52 months ago

No one is going to care when buying this on the 14. It’s very cool, but a quality of life improvement that no one will know about. Why would Apple even bother putting it on the 14?

Oh well, Apple wants to sell the pro anyways. 🤷‍♂️
Because using Apple devices is about the experience.

It's thanks to little details like these, barely known by wide public, that people can find satisfaction in using an iPhone, even the cheapest one. Things they aren't aware of that contributes to a nice usage experience.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
QuarterSwede Avatar
52 months ago

Because using Apple devices is about the experience.

It's thanks to little details like these, barely known by wide public, that people can find satisfaction in using an iPhone, even the cheapest one. Things they aren't aware of that contributes to a nice usage experience.
It really is the little things that make the overall experience good.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
52 months ago
Interesting, you would think the rear camera be able to determine light levels with built-in sensors. Or use the other cameras (not selected) for the same thing.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago
just spitballing here, but what if the rear ambient light sensor on the pros is used to better determine when the always on display should turn off (in a pocket, etc)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago
I hope this works as great as it sounds. It sucks being in those environments when your brightness keeps changing even though you override it cuz the front sensor keeps detecting changes.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
52 months ago

Interesting, you would think the rear camera be able to determine light levels with built-in sensors. Or use the other cameras (not selected) for the same thing.
Imagine if the user is taking a selfie or using FaceTime indoors in front of a bright window. The front ambient sensor probably wouldn't crank up the display brightness very high. Activating the rear camera for this situation would use too much power.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)