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

Thursday September 15, 2022 2:58 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

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 Roundup: iPhone 14

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

Squillace

14 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: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

840quadra

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)

QuarterSwede

It really is the little things that make the overall experience good.

utsava

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)

JPack

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)

xxray

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.

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