Technology
The iPhone's ultra-wide camera could get a big upgrade in 2021, Kuo says.
The iPhone 12 has barely been unveiled, but we already have an idea about what next year's portfolio could look like — according to TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's 2021 iPhones will retain the latest form factor and screen sizes debuted with the iPhone 12 line, but offer upgraded ultra-wide cameras on the Pro and Pro Max models (via MacRumors).
Kuo forecast the iPhone 12 line and now seems poised to announce what to expect from the 2021 models almost a year before they were launched. This time, Kuo says that the Pro and Pro Max ultra-wide camera will be upgraded from the existing f/2.4, five-element lens package to the f/1.8, six-element autofocus lens. The wider aperture could let in more light, theoretically boosting low-light images, and we're curious to see how the autofocus and the increased number of lens elements will make it easier to take ultra-wide photographs.
Recently, we've seen Apple reserving the best sensors for the most precious iPhones, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max offering a bigger sensor and sensor-shift optical image stabilization for its main camera, as well as a longer telephoto lens. But the Pro Max didn't buy you an ultra-wide camera better than every other iPhone 12; that's going to change next year, according to Kuo.
Kuo expects the latest ultra-wide camera to become normal in the entire iPhone range in 2022, but there may be a new high-end camera: Kuo speculated that 2022 iPhones will feature a periscope telephoto lens like the one we first saw broken down in the Huawei P30 Pro. Periscope telephoto lenses allow for enhanced optical magnification by storing lenses within the phone body by using a mirror to point them to the rear.
New cameras follow Kuo's other iPhone projections in 2021: a completely port-free flagship, 120Hz ProMotion screens, and a new generation Touch ID integrated directly into the monitor and/or power button. So while Kuo claims they could look physically identical to the iPhone 12, they might come up with some big improvements.
