iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus Could Still Have Smaller Camera Sensor Than Pro Models Despite Upgrade to 48MP

Apple's iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Plus models could still have a smaller sensor than the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max, despite their upgrade to 48-megapixels, according to a new rumor posted on Weibo.

iPhone 15 Cyan and Magenta Frosted Back Feature
The claim comes from "Digital Chat Station," a Weibo user responsible for a range of details about the camera technology of upcoming ‌iPhone‌ models. Firstly, they claim that the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max will retain the same 1/1.28-inch 48-megapixel sensor as the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max.

Numerous reports from sources including the analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo say that the two standard ‌iPhone‌ 15 models are set to be upgraded to 48-megapixels just like the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max. According to Digital Chat Station, while the non-Pro models will receive the upgrade to 48-megapixels, they will continue to have a smaller stacked CMOS image sensor (CIS) than the Pro models at 1/1.5-inches.

The ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus feature a 12-megapixel sensor that is 1/1.9-inches in size. This means that the standard ‌iPhone‌ 15 models could gain a 27% larger sensor – a substantial increase, but still not equal to the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro models. In May, Digital Chat Station reported that the next ‌iPhone‌ sensor size increase for the Pro models is set to occur in 2024, increasing from 1/1.28-inches to 1/1.14-inches.

A larger image sensor offers improved image quality by capturing more light, leading to greater detail and less noise, especially in low-light conditions. It also provides a wider dynamic range and better color accuracy, resulting in more professional and visually appealing photos.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV

Monday October 13, 2025 8:25 am PDT by
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV. A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones

Saturday October 11, 2025 6:59 pm PDT by
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features

Saturday October 11, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
All AirPods 2025

Apple Reportedly Working on New AirPods Pro, AirPods 5, and H3 Chip

Sunday October 12, 2025 9:24 am PDT by
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds." AirPods Pro 2...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
29 months ago
well of course, this device only exists for upselling purposes anyway. If they truly cared about providing the best customer experience available, they would put the best tech currently available in "the" iPhonE (singular)
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SilvioInfante Avatar
29 months ago

well of course, this device only exists for upselling purposes anyway. If they truly cared about providing the best customer experience available, they would put the best available tech currently available in "the" iPhonE (singular)
That's exactly what they did while Steve Jobs was alive, and for a few years after. Every year they poured the best they could do for that year into one really great model.

Inevitably though, the greed got to them. Especially with a bean counter as CEO. They'll tell you that the iPhone market is vast and complicated, and needs 20 different iPhones on sale at any time to hit every imaginable price point. In truth, it's all just greed.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SilvioInfante Avatar
29 months ago

Non pro phones are for the peasants.
I don't know, at $799 and $899 they don't sound like peasant phones. More like they sound like terrible buys that exist only to upsell the Pro models.

I don't see what the point is anymore, honestly. If Apple is only going to put its best foot forward with the Pro phones now, then just get rid of the standard models, and embrace the fact that flaghship iPhone starts at $1000+. And just keep last year's Pro models in the lineup at those price points.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rychiar Avatar
29 months ago
How useless is a 48mp sensor when it’s small….
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
29 months ago
I wonder how this will affect all the pictures I take of my cat? o_O
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skyscraperfan Avatar
29 months ago
So the cripple a phone on many levels and still ask for $799 or even more?

I recently looked for a new TV and was surprised that TVs despite their size and all those modern features cost much less than smartphones. It seems TVs are getting cheaper while smartphones are getting more expensive. For €749 you already get a 48 inch OLED TV. There are TVs with a screen size over 80 inch for the price of an iPhone 14 Pro.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)