Other companies are faster in innovating the phone camera system.
A downside of Apple's mere four yearly variants, something on the order of 150 million units, (plus another 70 million of the previous year's variants), is that it requires massive quantities of identical components.
Sourcing components for phones that sell in the few millions or even few ten's of millions, of units, is quite a bit easier that sourcing for those 220 million units.
If you feel that Apple is a laggard in camera systems, you have many other choices available otherwise from other manufacturers.
5x zoom should be standard on all iPhones, considering one of the primary reasons people like iPhones is the camera. The standard iPhone 15 already costs as much as an M2 MacBook Air, which is a whole lot of coin to only get a budget phone that misses out on standard tech from all other manufacturers and (when compared to the overpriced pro models) you’re lumped with; a less efficient older processor with poor ram and crappy battery life, a 60hz screen with no ‘always on’ option, only a 2x optical zoom, no Raw shooting, no Macro shooting, less video options, no LiDAR Scanner, no threaded network support, cheaper case materials, among other things… I go for the pro phone models to get the extra functionality as it’s helpful for my work as a builder and creative. It does feel like I’m getting ripped off for all the conveniences with the ‘Apple tax’ however as I’ve funded my household (wife, kids and business) to be in the Apple ecosystem since the 1990’s and it ain’t cheap.
All this constant chatter about cameras, cameras, cameras. I get it. Phone users want to take pics. Of just about anything, anytime, everywhere. These days you can't stroll on a street and not see someone holding up their phone taking a picture of some rather ordinary pigeon perched on a bollard. Big deal. You know that this pic and the photographer isn't going to end up in a museum somewhere alongside Ansel Adams.
For my part I would like to have a camera to be useful to take the most mundane pictures without the constant frustrations that I always experience. I am standing in front my shiny car attempting to take a pick of a panel that needs scratch repair. What do I see? My reflection. So I try to lean away and what do I see? My hands hanging goofy like trying to shoot that pic. How bloody annoying.
Then you are trying to flog something online, same deal. A stainless steel kettle and there you are like some skulking creep in the reflection.
These are my bugbears about all this talk about cameras. For the average camera user I don't care how many pixels and how many lens when I can't solve the simple straightforward problem of reflection. Of course, you are going to jump in and say, hey get a tripod. Why didn't I think of that? Try lining up that shot, Sherlock.
The other issue with phones, negating the all pervasive issue with cameras, is the utterly, stupid inadvertent touching of the screen and suddenly when you look at your phone screen you are facing some alien in outer space trying to flog you a bunch of stellar dust. Huh? How they hell did I get there?
And finally there is this dot.com, Dutch Tulip Mania about AI. Every few years the IT industry sinks into the doldrums and then needs a spark, AI. Well, there was a company called Borland run by a bloke called Philip Khan who released a piece of software called Turbo AI back in the last century.
Guess what the challenge was? Data. The data that the IT industry is going to scrape to give you intelligent anything is your data manipulated by algorithms, in case you haven't figured that out.
In other words, it's not organic AI, it's old, crap data being scraped from humongous warehouses filled to the rafters with servers housing giga mounds of data. And the more we use our phones, our computers to search and do anything the data grows diametrically. But have you noticed this? As soon as you search for a warm toilet seat cover on your next search there are ten vendors that want to flog you warm toilet seat covers. That's not generative or predictive. That's just plain old stupid AI Mimicking. You searched for this so I am going to give you the same.
Anyone whose ever stock traded will have noticed the disclaimer: past winnings is not guarantee of future earnings. And that disclaimer ought to be slapped on any AI product in the future: past data is being used to give you your answers but it is no guarantee of anything useful. It's the old saying garbage in/garbage out.
Nvidia is running a storm of success to mega trillions, watch how they plummet back to earth same as the Dutch Tulip Mania and the dot.com when the ordinary folks work out that there is no magic bullet in AI. Just the same-o, same-o.
The day that someone delivers organic AI is the day I will sit up and take notice. Till, one big, fat yawn
Come to think of it, I believe that that is what Humane AI was trying to deliver. Real time AI. See how well they did??
Thank you for the reference to Philippe Khan : A genius jack-of-all-trades, in the great era of computing. And more !!
All this constant chatter about cameras, cameras, cameras. I get it. Phone users want to take pics. Of just about anything, anytime, everywhere. These days you can't stroll on a street and not see someone holding up their phone taking a picture of some rather ordinary pigeon perched on a bollard. Big deal. You know that this pic and the photographer isn't going to end up in a museum somewhere alongside Ansel Adams.
For my part I would like to have a camera to be useful to take the most mundane pictures without the constant frustrations that I always experience. I am standing in front my shiny car attempting to take a pick of a panel that needs scratch repair. What do I see? My reflection. So I try to lean away and what do I see? My hands hanging goofy like trying to shoot that pic. How bloody annoying.
Then you are trying to flog something online, same deal. A stainless steel kettle and there you are like some skulking creep in the reflection.
These are my bugbears about all this talk about cameras. For the average camera user I don't care how many pixels and how many lens when I can't solve the simple straightforward problem of reflection. Of course, you are going to jump in and say, hey get a tripod. Why didn't I think of that? Try lining up that shot, Sherlock.
The other issue with phones, negating the all pervasive issue with cameras, is the utterly, stupid inadvertent touching of the screen and suddenly when you look at your phone screen you are facing some alien in outer space trying to flog you a bunch of stellar dust. Huh? How they hell did I get there?
And finally there is this dot.com, Dutch Tulip Mania about AI. Every few years the IT industry sinks into the doldrums and then needs a spark, AI. Well, there was a company called Borland run by a bloke called Philip Khan who released a piece of software called Turbo AI back in the last century.
Guess what the challenge was? Data. The data that the IT industry is going to scrape to give you intelligent anything is your data manipulated by algorithms, in case you haven't figured that out.
In other words, it's not organic AI, it's old, crap data being scraped from humongous warehouses filled to the rafters with servers housing giga mounds of data. And the more we use our phones, our computers to search and do anything the data grows diametrically. But have you noticed this? As soon as you search for a warm toilet seat cover on your next search there are ten vendors that want to flog you warm toilet seat covers. That's not generative or predictive. That's just plain old stupid AI Mimicking. You searched for this so I am going to give you the same.
Anyone whose ever stock traded will have noticed the disclaimer: past winnings is not guarantee of future earnings. And that disclaimer ought to be slapped on any AI product in the future: past data is being used to give you your answers but it is no guarantee of anything useful. It's the old saying garbage in/garbage out.
Nvidia is running a storm of success to mega trillions, watch how they plummet back to earth same as the Dutch Tulip Mania and the dot.com when the ordinary folks work out that there is no magic bullet in AI. Just the same-o, same-o.
The day that someone delivers organic AI is the day I will sit up and take notice. Till, one big, fat yawn
Come to think of it, I believe that that is what Humane AI was trying to deliver. Real time AI. See how well they did??
If your problem is reflections, what you’re looking for is a circular polarizing filter. This is not a filter effect in an app. This is a physical filter that is positioned right in front of the camera lens. It literally filters out unwanted light from reflections. That’s what the professionals use on their professional cameras to diminish reflections. I’ve never tried one for an iPhone, but apparently they make them. That’s not something you’d want permanently stacked into iPhone camera lenses (or any professional lens), so don’t expect that to be a future iPhone innovation.
I have used a CPL filter with a phone and it works well. Would totally solve the problem mentioned by the OP. Even better is they are relatively inexpensive.
But yeah, the problem isn’t the camera. The problem is knowing how to use the camera.
These days you can't stroll on a street and not see someone holding up their phone taking a picture of some rather ordinary pigeon perched on a bollard. Big deal. You know that this pic and the photographer isn't going to end up in a museum somewhere alongside Ansel Adams.
First of all, Speckled Jim was my only true love who's been with me since I was a nipper so if I want to shoot Speckled Jim with my iPhone camera I have good reason. (I assume only a couple people will even get that reference.)
Secondly, you presume you know why someone is taking a picture of something which you deem mundane and you then discount the notion of anyone taking a photo because, as you put it, they won't end up in a museum alongside Ansel Adams. I might find your entire take offensive it wasn't so absurdly ridiculous. From this idea that only professionals should use camera even while taking about taking a photo of a scratch to talking about nature photography while comparing to a landscape photographer without even considering that a professional photographer would likely use different equipment is all just odd AF. While your example probably isn't an actual thing you've seen, in the ones you have seen that you feel were mundane, did you even consider that they were seeing something you weren't? You may as well just forego ever capturing a moment because Google Images will always have something better than you can take.
People seem to use the iPhone as a camera more than they use it as a phone. Maybe it should be rebranded the iCamera. "It Comes with a Phone!"
It’s not really unique to the iPhone nor new People use their smartphones for cameras more than they use them for phones and not only that they use them more than they use dedicated cameras as cameras. Filckr publish the most popular cameras and for years it has been the iPhone.
I’d also wager a large amount of money that the camera isn’t the only feature people use more than the phone. Music, web browsing, social media, navigation … I’d guess the actual phone calls are pretty low on most people’s usage list.
People seem to use the iPhone as a camera more than they use it as a phone. Maybe it should be rebranded the iCamera. "It Comes with a Phone!"
It’s not really unique to the iPhone nor new People use their smartphones for cameras more than they use them for phones and not only that they use them more than they use cameras as cameras. I’d wager that there is a laundry list of things people use their smartphones for other than a phone. Music, navigation, web browsing, social media.
The only camera innovation I'd like to see is the stupid bulge gone.
Check out my TL;DR post above, or for the short version: the optical physics of light and lenses necessitates the thickness of that “stupid bulge.”
Fine the camera needs to be that thick, the rest of the phone should be as well. Imagine a phone slightly thicker, in use nobody would notice, there would be no bulge and room for a bigger battery. All to the good. Apple is so obsessed with thinness that it’s to the detriment of their products.
The only camera innovation I'd like to see is the stupid bulge gone.
Check out my TL;DR post above, or for the short version: the optical physics of light and lenses necessitates the thickness of that “stupid bulge.”
It's not a question of physics in most of the industry. It has more to do with the idea that 'thin' is best.
We are now seeing some retractable lenses with the larger sensors on phones.
The lens mechanism on my phone is around 2mm. I wouldn't notice 2mm extra thickness on the rest of the phone to make the lens flush with it. It could be put to very good use.
Luckily for me, I use a case and that lets the lens setup sit slightly below it.
To get rid of camera bumps, I'll be fine with lessor cameras, like 8 or 12MP cams, but more of them and do some computational blending of the cameras. Like a cluster of four 12MP back cameras that you combine into one 24MP image. Don't need to have 5x zoom with it. 2x or digital zoom would be fine.
Plus, just make it an option. The default config will have the best camera performance possible, bumps and all. For +$100, offer the bumpless option. Same for iPads.
I'm holding out till the iPhone has at least 8 cameras on the back this 3-4 camera business just won't cut it for me! and I need at least 8 terrapixel at least, for the front mount camera. and maybe 200 terrapixels for the back camera I don't want high res pictures of the moon i want mega def photos of Pluto
"...Kuo says that the tetraprism lens will again be improved. While he has no specific details, he claims the upgrade will be a more substantial and significant one than before."
Unless Covid robbed you of your sense of smell, you could detect the typical aroma of Kuo bullshite from a mile away in this "prediction." You can't know or state that a given upgrade will be "more substantial and significant" without specific details, and Kuo starts by saying he has no specific details. It's the details of the upgrade that determine how substantive and significant it will be. Kuo used to be legit, but no longer, although he still gets by on his former reputation for real insight. Now he specializes mostly in darts at a board nonsense, often changing his "predictions" along the way, depending how the wind is blowing and is especially fond of quoting the always anonymous "supply chain" as his source.
The really big upgrade will be with iPhone 30. Using the quantum physics teleportation lens, you input a location, anywhere in the universe, and the iPhone will take a picture at that remote location. Unfortunately, the very act of taking the picture changes the state of the subject, so all such photos will be random candid shots.
I predict that the iPhone 29 with have tilt/shift capability for perspective control, something that is a must have for architectural photography, but I'll be close to end of life, and I'm almost certain that my iPhone 7+ will no longer be supported before that arrives.
Sometimes, a person has to compromise...
Myself, I really just want under screen Touch ID, and true optical 5x zoom, rumored at one time to arrive in the iPhone 18...
People seem to use the iPhone as a camera more than they use it as a phone. Maybe it should be rebranded the iCamera. "It Comes with a Phone!"
I'm all for it. Then they can come out with an iPhone without the idiotic camera bulge.
Yeah, the phone is still there but all modern smartphones do so much more than making phone calls. At this point calling any smartphone a “phone” is more of a tradition rather than a full description of what the device really is. I personally consider the iPhone to be the penultimate implementation of a “personal computer” … because it is about as personal as any modern device can be without being an implanted body accessory. Plus, Tricorder was already taken.
I’m no fan of the camera bumps/warts but most cases reduce the wartiness of the bumps fairly well and I don’t use the iPhone flat on very many occasions. Google implemented a full width unibump design that is okay, works best with horizontal camera lenses. Apple could try to do something similar but I think this is an area where third party cases could offer designs that allow you to use your iPhone flatter, even with a slight wedge to improve viewing.
Unless battery technology gets much lighter I’d cringe at Apple filling out the back to make everything flush by adding more battery. My iPhone 14 Pro Max is already a load that causes me to wear a belt at times. Adding more weight and thickness would put it in full suspenders mode. But it would also open up a new opportunity for Apple to sell fashionable suspenders that can be style matched to your Apple Watch band. How about smart suspenders? Automatic load-leveling and height adjusting, wedgie preventing Apple Magic Suspenders? Hello three pound iPhones with 96 hour runtime.
I'd be with you if it were an additional 4th lens. As a replacement for the current 3x lens, no. Why? Look no further than Apple Insider's own comparison of photos between the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in the 77mm -- 119mm range. This is an extraordinarily useful short-medium telephoto range in which a vast number of photos are shot. The 15 Pro photos are qualitatively better, and this has been shown on numerous sites that have done comparisons. At 120mm, where the Pro Max telephoto kicks in, it's the clearly superior lens, but how much shooting do you really do at 120mm and above? For most people, not much. In essence, you're trading a better lens for general photography for a better lens in more specialized use cases. Not a good tradeoff except for marketing purposes.
Comments
Sourcing components for phones that sell in the few millions or even few ten's of millions, of units, is quite a bit easier that sourcing for those 220 million units.
If you feel that Apple is a laggard in camera systems, you have many other choices available otherwise from other manufacturers.
Secondly, you presume you know why someone is taking a picture of something which you deem mundane and you then discount the notion of anyone taking a photo because, as you put it, they won't end up in a museum alongside Ansel Adams. I might find your entire take offensive it wasn't so absurdly ridiculous. From this idea that only professionals should use camera even while taking about taking a photo of a scratch to talking about nature photography while comparing to a landscape photographer without even considering that a professional photographer would likely use different equipment is all just odd AF. While your example probably isn't an actual thing you've seen, in the ones you have seen that you feel were mundane, did you even consider that they were seeing something you weren't? You may as well just forego ever capturing a moment because Google Images will always have something better than you can take.
We are now seeing some retractable lenses with the larger sensors on phones.
The lens mechanism on my phone is around 2mm. I wouldn't notice 2mm extra thickness on the rest of the phone to make the lens flush with it. It could be put to very good use.
Luckily for me, I use a case and that lets the lens setup sit slightly below it.
Plus, just make it an option. The default config will have the best camera performance possible, bumps and all. For +$100, offer the bumpless option. Same for iPads.
this 3-4 camera business just won't cut it for me!
and I need at least 8 terrapixel at least, for the front mount camera.
and maybe 200 terrapixels for the back camera
I don't want high res pictures of the moon
i want mega def photos of Pluto
Unless Covid robbed you of your sense of smell, you could detect the typical aroma of Kuo bullshite from a mile away in this "prediction." You can't know or state that a given upgrade will be "more substantial and significant" without specific details, and Kuo starts by saying he has no specific details. It's the details of the upgrade that determine how substantive and significant it will be. Kuo used to be legit, but no longer, although he still gets by on his former reputation for real insight. Now he specializes mostly in darts at a board nonsense, often changing his "predictions" along the way, depending how the wind is blowing and is especially fond of quoting the always anonymous "supply chain" as his source.