Exclusive: every iPhone 16 & iPhone 16 Pro camera spec & Capture Button detail revealed

Comments

• Reply 1 of 22

  jbirdiikun Posts: 4member

  August 22, 2024 12:57PM

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  
• Reply 2 of 22

  DAalseth Posts: 2,979member

  August 22, 2024 1:24PM

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  That’s a very good point. I always keep my phone in a case too, and for the same reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with this.
  
  EDIT: I am going to add one thing. If they were going to bump one of the cameras to 48mpxl I do wish it was the 5x camera.

  edited August 22
• Reply 3 of 22

  apple4thewin Posts: 234member

  August 22, 2024 3:17PM

  I wonder what we can expect internally such as the TOPs i presume the performance should be similar to an m3 vs m4 so A17 Pro vs A18 Pro. 
• Reply 4 of 22

  pulseimages Posts: 653member

  August 22, 2024 4:19PM

  DAalseth said:

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  That’s a very good point. I always keep my phone in a case too, and for the same reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with this.
  
  EDIT: I am going to add one thing. If they were going to bump one of the cameras to 48mpxl I do wish it was the 5x camera.

  Me too! Do Android phones have 48mp 5x zooms?
• Reply 5 of 22

  gatorguy Posts: 24,608member

  August 22, 2024 4:26PM

  pulseimages said:

  DAalseth said:

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  That’s a very good point. I always keep my phone in a case too, and for the same reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with this.
  
  EDIT: I am going to add one thing. If they were going to bump one of the cameras to 48mpxl I do wish it was the 5x camera.

  Me too! Do Android phones have 48mp 5x zooms?

  Yes. The most recent would be the Pixel 9 series. 
  
  "Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL share the same best-in-class pro triple rear camera system to get the best photos and videos ever on a Pixel. And the new 48MP 5x telephoto lens has an upgraded sensor that improves autofocus so you can get sharper images — even with low light.

  These two phones also have a new 42 MP front camera, so you’ll get sharper and brighter photos in low light. Plus, with a wider field of view, you can get the perfect group selfie."

  The Pixel 8 Pro also had a 48mp 5x zoom, but using a different sensor from the 9's (I think).

  edited August 22
• Reply 6 of 22

  pulseimages Posts: 653member

  August 22, 2024 5:13PM

  gatorguy said:

  pulseimages said:

  DAalseth said:

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  That’s a very good point. I always keep my phone in a case too, and for the same reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with this.
  
  EDIT: I am going to add one thing. If they were going to bump one of the cameras to 48mpxl I do wish it was the 5x camera.

  Me too! Do Android phones have 48mp 5x zooms?

  Yes. The most recent would be the Pixel 9 series. 
  
  "Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL share the same best-in-class pro triple rear camera system to get the best photos and videos ever on a Pixel. And the new 48MP 5x telephoto lens has an upgraded sensor that improves autofocus so you can get sharper images — even with low light.

  These two phones also have a new 42 MP front camera, so you’ll get sharper and brighter photos in low light. Plus, with a wider field of view, you can get the perfect group selfie."

  The Pixel 8 Pro also had a 48mp 5x zoom, but using a different sensor from the 9's (I think).

  Ugh, why is Apple always playing catchup these days.

  
• Reply 7 of 22

  tlinn Posts: 9member

  August 22, 2024 6:29PM

  Six thoughts on this post and Apple's approach to their cameras:
  
  1. As an iPhone Pro (non-Max) user, it is frustrating that Apple is going to dick around for six years before all three cameras employ 48 MP sensors.
  
  2. It is disappointing that the rumored sensor upgrade to the main camera does not appear to be happening. Or maybe the author is just assuming that if the resolution remains at 48 MP, the sensor is the same. Hopefully, the latter.
  
  3. The author writes "The ultra wide lens will be upgraded to 48MP". They mean the sensor. Lenses don't have megapixels. I'm not making this point to be pedantic. There are rumors that the lens itself will also be upgraded. Hopefully this remains the case. 
  
  4. I'm really hoping that the rumored anti-flare coating on the camera lenses is still happening despite the fact that this isn't mentioned here.
  
  5. Optical quality is a meaningless term. When the author says the main camera can take "2x optical-quality" images, what they should be saying is that the camera can be configured to crop in-phone to simulate a 2x (48mm) focal length. In other words, Apple is taking 12 MP from the center of the sensor and throwing away the rest of them. Anyone can do this from any image taken by any camera using their camera app's crop tool or post-processing software. The same thing is happening when users set the primary camera to 28mm or 35mm. This is a crop setting.
  
  6. As a photographer, the above illustrates my main grip with phone cameras in general: On the iPhone 15 Pro Max—and presumably both of the 16 Pros—the full frame equivalent focal lengths of the three cameras are 13mm, 24mm, and 120mm. The most commonly used focal lengths for non-phone photography, between 24 and 70mm, are totally missing. The 3X telephoto lens is 77mm, close to 70mm. The 5X lens moves farther away from this range. The iPhone is great for taking selfies. It's not bad for close up work either. But for traditional photography, it is regrettably limited. (To be clear, I'm not arguing that Apple is making the wrong choices based on consumer demand.) 
  

  
• Reply 8 of 22

  pulseimages Posts: 653member

  August 22, 2024 6:29PM

  Hopefully the iPhone 17 will have the 48MP 5x zoom. I’m not paying over 1K for 12MP. 

  
• Reply 9 of 22

  charlesn Posts: 1,081member

  August 22, 2024 6:56PM

  tlinn said:

  5. Optical quality is a meaningless term. When the author says the main camera can take "2x optical-quality" images, what they should be saying is that the camera can be configured to crop in-phone to simulate a 2x (48mm) focal length. In other words, Apple is taking 12 MP from the center of the sensor and throwing away the rest of them. Anyone can do this from any image taken by any camera using their camera app's crop tool or post-processing software. The same thing is happening when users set the primary camera to 28mm or 35mm. This is a crop setting.
  
  6. As a photographer, the above illustrates my main grip with phone cameras in general: On the iPhone 15 Pro Max—and presumably both of the 16 Pros—the full frame equivalent focal lengths of the three cameras are 13mm, 24mm, and 120mm. The most commonly used focal lengths for non-phone photography, between 24 and 70mm, are totally missing. The 3X telephoto lens is 77mm, close to 70mm. The 5X lens moves farther away from this range. The iPhone is great for taking selfies. It's not bad for close up work either. But for traditional photography, it is regrettably limited. (To be clear, I'm not arguing that Apple is making the wrong choices based on consumer demand.) 
  

  Thank you for this. I'm really happy to see someone other than myself posting "the reality" of iPhone's three lenses. There is no optical zooming. These are three fixed focal length lenses and any "zooming" is achieved through sensor cropping and computational photography tricks. I also agree 100% that the move to a 120mm telephoto lens is a move further away from quality in the range most used for general photography. The 24mm "main" lens will now handle everything from 24mm to 119mm, and when a 5X zoom range is handled by sensor cropping, it's inevitable that quality will suffer--as has been demonstrated in 15 Pro vs 15 Pro Max comparison shots in the 77mm to 119mm range. The 15 Pro shots are clearly and demonstrably better. I have read--but cannot find confirmation from Apple--that Apple uses information from multiple lenses, in addition to sensor cropping, to determine the image it produces for non-native focal lengths. For example, if shooting a 60mm shot on the 15 Pro, it is both cropping the sensor of the main, 24mm lens while also considering how the shot actually appears through the 77mm telephoto lens to arrive at the best rendition of a 60mm photo. This seems plausible and possible, but could also be entirely incorrect--I do wish Apple provided more transparency in how it achieves non-native focal lengths. Instead, we're being fed this "more is better" nonsense, where 120mm is "better" than the 77mm lens it's replacing, and that is only true if you're shooting at 120mm or more. For general photography, it's a step backwards. 

  
• Reply 10 of 22

  muthuk_vanalingam Posts: 1,357member

  August 22, 2024 7:58PM

  pulseimages said:

  DAalseth said:

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  That’s a very good point. I always keep my phone in a case too, and for the same reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with this.
  
  EDIT: I am going to add one thing. If they were going to bump one of the cameras to 48mpxl I do wish it was the 5x camera.

  Me too! Do Android phones have 48mp 5x zooms?

  Pixel 6 Pro from 3 years ago had 48mp 4x zoom telephoto camera. Pixel 7 pro from 2 years ago had 48mp 5x zoom telephoto camera. There are few other phones from Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo as well which have 48mp (or 50mp) 5x telephoto cameras.

  
• Reply 11 of 22

  charlesn Posts: 1,081member

  August 22, 2024 10:15PM

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  Not heresy at all. It's actually kind of rare (relatively speaking) to see a caseless iPhone in the wild. I go through spurts of using a case and not, and when I'm caseless, friends look at me like I'm crazy. At any rate, cases have always had cut outs for buttons and this will require just another cut out. Since the Capture button appears to sit flush with the metal trip, case makers--especially on thicker cases--will likely need to bevel the edges around the opening of the cut out to give your finger better access. But I have to think case makers already have a solution. What it does mean, for sure, is that cases from the 15 series will not be usable. Case makers have to like that part. 

  
• Reply 12 of 22

  bobolicious Posts: 1,168member

  August 22, 2024 11:35PM

  tlinn said:

  3. The author writes "The ultra wide lens will be upgraded to 48MP". They mean the sensor. Lenses don't have megapixels. I'm not making this point to be pedantic. There are rumors that the lens itself will also be upgraded. Hopefully this remains the case.
  

  Indeed let us hope the 'lens will also be upgraded'...
  

  
  

  Otherwize does the edge softness one can see even on a small iPhone screen risk becoming more pronounced...?

  
  

  No doubt a challenge @ 13mm eq I'd be happier to see focal length increased to say 15mm or 18mm eq and the f stopped down to 2.8 if it allowed pin sharp edge to edge...

  
• Reply 13 of 22

  M68000 Posts: 848member

  August 23, 2024 12:23AM

  tlinn said:

  Six thoughts on this post and Apple's approach to their cameras:
  
  1. As an iPhone Pro (non-Max) user, it is frustrating that Apple is going to dick around for six years before all three cameras employ 48 MP sensors.
  
  2. It is disappointing that the rumored sensor upgrade to the main camera does not appear to be happening. Or maybe the author is just assuming that if the resolution remains at 48 MP, the sensor is the same. Hopefully, the latter.
  
  3. The author writes "The ultra wide lens will be upgraded to 48MP". They mean the sensor. Lenses don't have megapixels. I'm not making this point to be pedantic. There are rumors that the lens itself will also be upgraded. Hopefully this remains the case. 
  
  4. I'm really hoping that the rumored anti-flare coating on the camera lenses is still happening despite the fact that this isn't mentioned here.
  
  5. Optical quality is a meaningless term. When the author says the main camera can take "2x optical-quality" images, what they should be saying is that the camera can be configured to crop in-phone to simulate a 2x (48mm) focal length. In other words, Apple is taking 12 MP from the center of the sensor and throwing away the rest of them. Anyone can do this from any image taken by any camera using their camera app's crop tool or post-processing software. The same thing is happening when users set the primary camera to 28mm or 35mm. This is a crop setting.
  
  6. As a photographer, the above illustrates my main grip with phone cameras in general: On the iPhone 15 Pro Max—and presumably both of the 16 Pros—the full frame equivalent focal lengths of the three cameras are 13mm, 24mm, and 120mm. The most commonly used focal lengths for non-phone photography, between 24 and 70mm, are totally missing. The 3X telephoto lens is 77mm, close to 70mm. The 5X lens moves farther away from this range. The iPhone is great for taking selfies. It's not bad for close up work either. But for traditional photography, it is regrettably limited. (To be clear, I'm not arguing that Apple is making the wrong choices based on consumer demand.) 
  

  Great post.  Regarding point #4 about lens flare.  I recently was out with a friend and her friends.  We did two pics using iPhone and android from the same vantage point and there was sun in the back.  I warned them that lens flare would be issue.  The iPhone picture had the flare.  The android did not.  The guy with the android told me android will automatically remove the flare.  He basically laughed at me for using an iPhone for pictures and not just because of the flare but the cameras in general.  Later, I then saw him do an impressive zoom picture of a lit up sign that was several miles away.   But, Bottom line,  I’m not replacing my camera equipment with smartphones.  A tiny sensor and lens in a phone can only do so much.  That’s my view.
  
  i did have a counterpoint with him about security seeming to be better on iPhone.  That is the main thing that keeps me on iPhone for now.  Ultimately, security is much more important than pictures.

  edited August 22
• Reply 14 of 22

  slow n easy Posts: 395member

  August 23, 2024 3:46AM

  charlesn said:

  jbirdiikun said:

  Nice. But, and I know this will be ‘heresy’ to many, I worry how having a case on will affect all Capture Button functions. I’m one of those rare few (i.e., clumsy) that need a case on my phone 

  Not heresy at all. It's actually kind of rare (relatively speaking) to see a caseless iPhone in the wild. I go through spurts of using a case and not, and when I'm caseless, friends look at me like I'm crazy. At any rate, cases have always had cut outs for buttons and this will require just another cut out. Since the Capture button appears to sit flush with the metal trip, case makers--especially on thicker cases--will likely need to bevel the edges around the opening of the cut out to give your finger better access. But I have to think case makers already have a solution. What it does mean, for sure, is that cases from the 15 series will not be usable. Case makers have to like that part. 

  Whether or not I use a case is mainly determined on how well I like the iPhone “look.” I put a case on the Sierra Blue because I thought the color was unattractive. The 6 and 6S were very ugly phones in my opinion. I always put a case on what I consider to be unattractive phones. My current 15 Pro is absolutely gorgeous so I didn’t put a case on it. I never put a case on my phone for protective reasons because I don’t drop phones or do careless things like put it in the same pocket with other items like keys for example.
• Reply 15 of 22

  soundsinmotion Posts: 86member

  August 23, 2024 1:46PM

  This just isn’t enough for me to upgrade from my 15 pro max. I’m getting tired of the incremental updates, they need a revolution and innovation.

  
• Reply 16 of 22

  JohnDenver101 Posts: 18member

  August 23, 2024 7:31PM

  Other websites are reporting iPhone 16 Pro will get Sony's IMX903 sensor. A significant upgrade over the current sensor. It's about 12% larger but more importantly features Sony's stacked technology offering 50% better light capture. 

  
• Reply 17 of 22

  roundaboutnow Posts: 747member

  August 23, 2024 7:58PM

  soundsinmotion said:

  This just isn’t enough for me to upgrade from my 15 pro max. I’m getting tired of the incremental updates, they need a revolution and innovation.

  Incremental phone upgrades are pretty much the name of the game these days, so might as well get used to it. I read somewhere that most people hang onto their phones for at least two or three upgrade cycles like I do. I went from 4s to 6 to Xs to 13 pro, so every time I got a new phone, it was always a pretty noticeable improvement. (I was just about to go with the 15 pro, but I'm thinking I'll wait for the 16 pro now).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
• Reply 18 of 22

  kiwimachead Posts: 55member

  August 23, 2024 8:28PM

  Unless I accidentally break or lose it, I’ll be sticking with 14 Pro until Apple introduce a worthwhile replacement and the new AI features are dialed in. Battery life in mine is still great after two years (battery health 88%). The camera, screen, storage and processor speed are faultless. It streams music and podcasts all day, handles multiple txts, emails, building site photographs and still has around 20-30% battery remaining in the evening when I top it up.
• Reply 19 of 22

  williamlondon Posts: 1,414member

  August 25, 2024 12:05AM

  soundsinmotion said:

  This just isn’t enough for me to upgrade from my 15 pro max. I’m getting tired of the incremental updates, they need a revolution and innovation.

  Exactly, it should toast bread, vacuum rugs, wash and dry clothes.
  
  Align your expectations with reality.
  
  
• Reply 20 of 22

  pulseimages Posts: 653member

  August 25, 2024 1:31AM

  williamlondon said:

  soundsinmotion said:

  This just isn’t enough for me to upgrade from my 15 pro max. I’m getting tired of the incremental updates, they need a revolution and innovation.

  Exactly, it should toast bread, vacuum rugs, wash and dry clothes.
  
  Align your expectations with reality.
  
  

  There hasn’t been much in the way of groundbreaking innovation since Jobs passed.