Apple may keep 'iPhone 14 Pro' camera bump to hold larger 48MP sensors

AppleInsider · March 27, 2022 4:36PM

The camera bump on the back of the latest "iPhone 14 Pro" and "iPhone 14 Pro Max" schematic leaks will be bigger to accommodate the larger imaging sensor, an analyst claims, with the shift to a 48MP sensor requiring more space.

On March 22, allegedly leaked diagrams for Apple's fall iPhone refresh indicated a probability that the camera bump on the rear will remain for yet another year, despite speculation in renders. As for why the bump will persist instead of disappearing, the decision may be down to the other rumored camera changes.

Apple is thought to be shifting from 12-megapixel camera sensors to 48-megapixel versions, which will be a major upgrade for the smartphone. Since bigger sensors will be used, that means the design will have to take into account the amount of consumed space inside the device.

In a Sunday tweet, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo mused on the schematic release, confirming that the main reason for the bump in the iPhone 14 Pro range is due to "upgrading the wide camera to 48MP."

The main reason for the larger and more prominent rear-camera bump of the 14 Pro/Pro Max is upgrading the wide camera to 48MP (vs. 13 Pro/Pro Max's 12MP). The diagonal length of 48MP CIS will increase by 25-35%, and the height of 48MP's 7P lens will increase by 5-10%. https://t.co/lrwgmnLNce
-- (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo)
March 27, 2022

According to Kuo, the diagonal length of the high-resolution image sensor will be bigger than the 12-megapixel version by between 25% and 35%. Diagonal width is not the only change, as the 7-piece (7P) lens for the sensor will also grow by between 5% and 10%.

In an extremely confined device, increasing the size of imaging components and shrinking the bump at the same time is a tall order. It's reasonable for Apple's engineers to consider keeping the well-established bump around for a while longer, so that the cameras can be improved without impacting the other internals too much.

Read on AppleInsider

bluefire1 · March 27, 2022 4:57PM

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

penti_uk · March 27, 2022 6:21PM

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

fallenjt · March 27, 2022 6:34PM

Since Ive left, Apple couldn’t come up with anything new in form factor

cornchip · March 27, 2022 6:36PM

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Just imagine the battery life.

hucom2000 · March 27, 2022 7:15PM

Duh!

slow n easy · March 27, 2022 7:51PM

Penti_UK said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

I guess I’m one of the few who don’t want a case, and my phones have always stayed in pristine condition without a case. I put my phone in a case for the 13 Pro because it doesn’t lie flat without a case but I would go back to no it using a case if there were not such a pronounced bump. The 12 Pro had a bump but it was not really too bad whereas in the 13 Pro it became more extreme. I like the better cameras and larger sensors so I guess I would prefer for the phone to be a little thicker. Now the rumors are for the megapixels to go sky high with even larger sensors. It’s hard for me to come out against that, but I still don’t like the extreme bump idea. In my opinion the phone looks nicer without a case.

paraeeker · March 27, 2022 8:39PM

I suppose there is a case to be made for using a case to address the bump. But just in case the bump is gone, would so be the case? Such is the case of the case of the case.

xed · March 27, 2022 8:59PM

slow n easy said:

Penti_UK said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

I guess I’m one of the few who don’t want a case, and my phones have always stayed in pristine condition without a case. I put my phone in a case for the 13 Pro because it doesn’t lie flat without a case but I would go back to no it using a case if there were not such a pronounced bump. The 12 Pro had a bump but it was not really too bad whereas in the 13 Pro it became more extreme. I like the better cameras and larger sensors so I guess I would prefer for the phone to be a little thicker. Now the rumors are for the megapixels to go sky high with even larger sensors. It’s hard for me to come out against that, but I still don’t like the extreme bump idea. In my opinion the phone looks nicer without a case.

I'm one that doesn't use a case and I've never had a problem with the camera bump. I guess I'm not one to put my phone on a flat surface to use it—I weirdly use my iPhone in my hand.

slow n easy · March 27, 2022 9:34PM

Xed said:

slow n easy said:

Penti_UK said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

I guess I’m one of the few who don’t want a case, and my phones have always stayed in pristine condition without a case. I put my phone in a case for the 13 Pro because it doesn’t lie flat without a case but I would go back to no it using a case if there were not such a pronounced bump. The 12 Pro had a bump but it was not really too bad whereas in the 13 Pro it became more extreme. I like the better cameras and larger sensors so I guess I would prefer for the phone to be a little thicker. Now the rumors are for the megapixels to go sky high with even larger sensors. It’s hard for me to come out against that, but I still don’t like the extreme bump idea. In my opinion the phone looks nicer without a case.

I'm one that doesn't use a case and I've never had a problem with the camera bump. I guess I'm not one to put my phone on a flat surface to use it—I weirdly use my iPhone in my hand.

I also put it in my hand to use it but I still like it to lay flat on a surface instead of teeter totter. If I’m weird then so be it.

japhey · March 27, 2022 10:06PM

I never believed those rumors or renders of the 14 eliminating the camera bump completely. Didn’t those come from Prosser before the 13’s were even released? Regardless, now we have rumors of the 14’s without a camera bump, with the same size camera bump, and with a larger camera bump. Sounds like a fishing expedition by Apple to root out leakers, to me.

japhey · March 27, 2022 10:08PM

slow n easy said:

Xed said:

slow n easy said:

Penti_UK said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

I guess I’m one of the few who don’t want a case, and my phones have always stayed in pristine condition without a case. I put my phone in a case for the 13 Pro because it doesn’t lie flat without a case but I would go back to no it using a case if there were not such a pronounced bump. The 12 Pro had a bump but it was not really too bad whereas in the 13 Pro it became more extreme. I like the better cameras and larger sensors so I guess I would prefer for the phone to be a little thicker. Now the rumors are for the megapixels to go sky high with even larger sensors. It’s hard for me to come out against that, but I still don’t like the extreme bump idea. In my opinion the phone looks nicer without a case.

I'm one that doesn't use a case and I've never had a problem with the camera bump. I guess I'm not one to put my phone on a flat surface to use it—I weirdly use my iPhone in my hand.

I also put it in my hand to use it but I still like it to lay flat on a surface instead of teeter totter. If I’m weird then so be it.

I guess if it’s weird to occasionally set your phone down instead of holding it in your hand 24 hours a day, then I must be too.

rob53 · March 28, 2022 12:30AM

So 4x the storage for one shot. I hope the iPhone 14 starts at 256GB because it’s going to need it. Will the A16(?) be fast enough to handle video and multiple shots? This could be an amazing camera but 48MP only for wide angle. I hope to see some true telephoto capabilities to go along with the massive pixel amount.

melgross · March 28, 2022 1:32AM

cornchip said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Just imagine the battery life.

And the weight!

melgross · March 28, 2022 1:35AM

rob53 said:

So 4x the storage for one shot. I hope the iPhone 14 starts at 256GB because it’s going to need it. Will the A16(?) be fast enough to handle video and multiple shots? This could be an amazing camera but 48MP only for wide angle. I hope to see some true telephoto capabilities to go along with the massive pixel amount.

Remember that 48MP is 12MP when binned. So Apple may use 48 for some shooting, and bin everything else. That gives better noise and dynamic range, bit the same storage. It’s believed that the 48MP is really for 8K video, as you need close to that for it.

mike1 · March 28, 2022 2:06PM

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Nope. Going in a case anyway.

crowley · March 28, 2022 2:58PM

mike1 said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Nope. Going in a case anyway.

Nope? It's their preference, you can't nope it.

melgross · March 28, 2022 8:36PM

crowley said:

mike1 said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Nope. Going in a case anyway.

Nope? It's their preference, you can't nope it.

It’s just not realistic at this time. I don’t see the point complaining about something that’s technically necessary.

dbs888 · March 28, 2022 9:20PM

Penti_UK said:

bluefire1 said:

I’d prefer Apple making the 14 Pro slightly thicker if it meant getting rid of the bump.

Remember, most people put their phone in a case, which negates the bump but can’t negate additional thickness.

Apple's own iPhone cases don't "negate" the bump. I have an Apple silicone case on my iPhone 13 Pro Max. It cannot lie flat (screen-side up) because the camera bump, with the case on, protrudes. The case, itself, has a ridge around the phone's camera bump. I can't imagine that any non-Apple case is any different.
I bought one of those glass screen-saver things designed to protect the camera bump and it seems to work OK. But the camera bump is a clumsy work-around at best.
Making the phone thicker to eliminate the camera bump would, in-principle, be OK except that the 13 Pro Max is already pretty big and heavy (feels like a brick compared to the XsMax I had before.

Apple may keep 'iPhone 14 Pro' camera bump to hold larger 48MP sensors

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