iPhone 16 Pro Rumored to Feature 48MP Ultra Wide Camera

The iPhone 16 Pro could feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera with a 48-megapixel sensor, according to a Weibo leaker.

iphone 11 pro ultra wide
The rumor comes from Weibo user "Instant Digital" and suggests that 2024's ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models will be the first to feature more than one 48-megapixel sensor, leaving the Telephoto camera as the only rear-facing lens with a 12-megapixel resolution. The Ultra Wide camera's upgrade to a 48-megapixel sensor should allow it to capture more light, resulting in enhanced photos when shooting in 0.5× mode, especially in low-light environments.

The iPhone 14 Pro, ‌iPhone‌ 15, and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro models already have a 48-megapixel Main camera that uses "pixel binning" to merge data from four pixels on the sensor into one "super pixel" for improved low-light capture. With the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models, this technology is expected to expand to the Ultra Wide lens, which is currently a 12-megapixel lens.

This also means that ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models should be able to shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos in Ultra Wide mode. These photos retain more detail in the image file for more editing flexibility, and can be printed at large sizes.

The Weibo rumor corroborates a forecast from Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu, which said that the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro will feature a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera and support for Wi-Fi 7. In 2025, the iPhone 17 Pro is expected to complete the rear camera array's transition to 48-megapixel sensors, bringing the technology to the Telephoto lens.

Instant Digital has a mixed track record in terms of revealing accurate information about Apple's plans. The source was first to report the ‌iPhone‌ 14's Yellow spring refresh, Spatial Video on the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro, and the Apple Watch Series 9's minor hardware update, as well as being the only source of the only rumor claiming that the ‌iPhone‌ 15 and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Plus would feature frosted back glass. However, they also made claims about several iOS 17 features and the release of a new iPad Air in October 2023 that did not pan out.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...

Top Rated Comments

s_muxiu Avatar
25 months ago
just wanna 48Mp Telephoto camera
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
25 months ago
*throws iPhone 15 pro max in the garbage*
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swiftapplefan Avatar
25 months ago
Happy to see this, let’s hope that the sensor also gets bigger, so that the photos will be actually usable most of the time
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MudPipes Avatar
25 months ago
I have a theory the 48MP ultra wide upgrade is going to be a key feature for spatial video. Cropped to 1X to match same focal length as main camera at 1X. Does that make sense?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swiftapplefan Avatar
25 months ago
Yay! So that means high-quality digital zoom on the 0.5x camera!


…wait
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H.E. Pennypacker Avatar
25 months ago
Can we please look at some better improvements to the iPhone outside of the camera year after year. Is anyone complaining about photo quality still? How about some friggin innovation for goodness sake!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)