iPhone 15 to Use 'State-of-the-Art' Image Sensor From Sony for Better Low-Light Performance

Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 models will be equipped with Sony's newest "state of the art" image sensors, according to a report from Nikkei.

iPhone 14 Pro Rear Camera
Compared to standard sensors, Sony's image sensor doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing it to capture more light to cut down on underexposure and overexposure. Nikkei says that it is able to better photograph a person's face even with strong backlighting, as an example.

Sony is using semiconductor architecture that puts photodiodes and transistors in separate layers, allowing for more photodiodes. It is not clear if all of the ‌iPhone 15‌ models will use the new sensor technology, or if Apple will limit it to the higher-end "Pro" ‌iPhone 15‌ models.

At the current time, rumors suggest that the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro will have several exclusive features that will not be available in the standard ‌iPhone 15‌ models, including an updated A17 chip, a faster USB-C port, more RAM, and most notably, updated zoom camera technology.

Apple is working on a periscope telephoto lens that will improve the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro's optical zoom capabilities, allowing for up to 10x optical zoom to match some Android smartphones that are on the market.

The Sony image sensor technology described here would likely be used for the Wide camera that Apple considers the iPhone's "main" camera as Apple typically uses different technology for each lens.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

best buy holiday

Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Black Friday sales are continuing today with Best Buy kicking off early Black Friday deals that will last for the next few days. Similar to other retailers, Best Buy's early Black Friday event includes sitewide savings on Apple products, headphones, TVs, monitors, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...
mac mini thermal architecture feature

New Mac Mini Has Modular Storage, 256GB Model Will Have Faster SSD

Friday November 8, 2024 7:06 am PST by
Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips in the new Mac mini with 256GB of storage, according to a partial teardown video shared on social media today. This means the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip will not have significantly slower SSD speeds compared to higher-end configurations of the computer with 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage, as multiple NAND chips allows for faster SSD...
iphone passcode green

Cops Suspect iOS 18 iPhones Are Communicating to Force Reboots, Making Unlocking Harder

Thursday November 7, 2024 2:20 pm PST by
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media. iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
maxresdefault

Hands On With Apple's New M4 Mac Mini

Friday November 8, 2024 12:21 pm PST by
Apple launched the new Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro models with M4 chips today, and because the Mac mini is the only one of the machines that got a design update, we thought we'd check it out to see how it compares to the prior version. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The 2024 version of the Mac mini is much smaller than the previous M2 model, so it takes up...
High Power Mode Feature 2

Apple Expands High Power Mode to MacBook Pro and Mac Mini Models With M4 Pro Chip

Thursday November 7, 2024 12:15 pm PST by
High Power Mode is available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham. The feature was previously limited to Macs with Apple's highest-end "Max" chip, so this is the first time it is available on Macs with a "Pro" chip. This is the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power...
next generation carplay multi display

Here's the Latest on Next-Generation CarPlay After 2.5 Years of Waiting

Wednesday November 6, 2024 8:33 am PST by
It has been nearly two and a half years since Apple first previewed next-generation CarPlay at WWDC 2022, and it has still yet to become available in any vehicles. Below, we recap the latest information about next-generation CarPlay. Launch Timing Apple's website continues to say that the first vehicles with next-generation CarPlay support will "arrive in 2024," but it has yet to provide ...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Skipping the New MacBook Pro? Here Are the Rumors About M5 Models

Friday November 8, 2024 9:35 am PST by
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips launched in stores today. If you are not planning to upgrade this year, be aware that there are already rumors about next year's MacBook Pro models with M5 series chips. It appears the MacBook Pro will remain on an annual upgrade cycle next year. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said camera module...

Top Rated Comments

rain111 Avatar
26 months ago
I think I'll wait for iPhone 16 and have yet another state-of-the-art image sensor.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
genovelle Avatar
26 months ago

But but but... Apple lead me to believe they made their own cameras? At least their consumers act like they do?
No one does. All of the cameras combine lots of different IP to achieve their results. What Apple does is take this technology, combine it with their software to create new experiences.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
26 months ago
iPhone 15 will get a better camera shock
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1madman1 Avatar
26 months ago

With all the riots in China, people are having trouble getting their hands on iphone 14 pro.

Anyway, a CCD (sensor) is only as good as the optics. Hopefully the optics can take advantage of the CCD.
Phones haven't used CCDs for years, they're all CMOS sensors these days. The iPhone has been CMOS since at least the iPhone 4.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
26 months ago
Awesome! It's about to get better and better. The periscope telephoto lens ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/07/14/periscope-lens-iphone-15-pro-max-kuo/') would be a game changer :)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WWPD Avatar
26 months ago
90% sure this will not be on the base iPhone 15, why even bother? Do away with the pro and just make the best iPhone. Apple today reminds me of a car dealership.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)