iPhone 15 camera predictions: rumored sensor sizes and zoom ranges
Apple is expected to lift the lid on its iPhone 15 line this September, with the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (which may yet be called the iPhone 15 Ultra) set to replace the iPhone 14 and its siblings as the company’s best iPhones.
We’ve already detailed our iPhone 15 specs, iPhone 15 design and iPhone 15 price predictions elsewhere on TechRadar, but what of the phones’ respective camera arrays?
In this article, we break down all the iPhone 15 camera rumors we’ve heard so far, with dedicated sections for the standard iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
iPhone 15 camera
Just like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 15 is expected to get a dual-sensor camera setup, though rumors indicate that the iPhone 15 will inherit the 48MP main sensor boasted by the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, rather than the 12MP main sensor used by its predecessor.
Suffice to say, this is great news for fans of Apple’s standard iPhones. While the iPhone 14’s cameras are adequate enough for general photography tasks, they’re essentially unchanged from the iPhone 13 (save for the upgraded imaging pipeline powering them).
The iPhone 15, then, could give existing iPhone owners a tangible – and long-awaited – reason to upgrade vanilla models, even if we don't expect to see any improvements over the iPhone 14’s measly 5x digital zoom.
On the selfie-snapping front, the iPhone 14’s 12MP selfie camera is expected to remain in place on the iPhone 15.
iPhone 15 Pro camera
The iPhone 15 Pro isn’t expected to stray too far from its predecessor’s (admittedly excellent) triple-sensor setup, which comprises the following three lenses:
48MP wide (24mm f/2.8)
12MP ultrawide (13mm f/2.2)
12MP telephoto (77mm f/2.8) w/ 3x optical zoom
A periscope camera is the only real upgrade that’s been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro, but we suspect that this technology – and indeed a telephoto camera with a variable zoom lens – will be reserved for the photography-focused Ultra iPhone, whenever it does end up arriving.
In fact, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the iPhone 16 Pro will be getting a larger display in order to house an Ultra-style periscope lens, so we're not expecting to see one included on this year's Pro device.
The main difference between the iPhone 15 Pro’s cameras and the iPhone 14 Pro’s, then, will probably be the quality of sensors used. According to leaks, the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to sport new Sony-produced sensors that capture more light. Otherwise, the phone's main upgrades seem likely to come in the design department (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, given the strength of the iPhone 14 Pro's cameras).
iPhone 15 Pro Max camera
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is rumored to improve upon its predecessor’s triple-sensor setup in a few keys ways. However, because of the confusion over whether Apple will be debuting an iPhone 15 Ultra this year, we're not certain about what those improvements will be, exactly.
As with the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro Max boasts the following three rear lenses:
48MP wide (24mm f/2.8)
12MP ultrawide (13mm f/2.2)
12MP telephoto (77mm f/2.8) w/ 3x optical zoom
As mentioned for the iPhone 15 Pro, a periscope camera was rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has since predicted that the iPhone 16 Pro will be the first to get a periscope lens, owing to its potentially larger display.
There's still a chance that the iPhone 15 Pro Max – being larger than its standard Pro sibling – could get a periscope camera in 2023, but all the rumors point towards such a lens being a marquee feature of Apple's first Ultra iPhone.
Similarly, before rumors of its existence subsided, we heard that the iPhone 15 Ultra could be getting a telephoto camera with a variable zoom lens, of the sort rumored to feature on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Variable optical zoom cameras are exceptionally rare among today’s smartphones – the Sony Xperia 1 IV uses one, but it’s only capable of zooming between 3.5x and 5.2x – so again, this feature could be reserved for Apple's first Ultra iPhone, whenever that arrives.
As with the iPhone 15 Pro, then, the sensors will likely be the main differentiator between the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s cameras and its predecessor's. One of these sensors – the Sony IMX903 – is rumored to measure a whopping 1/1.14 inches, meaning the iPhone 15 Pro Max could ship with the biggest camera sensor ever used in an iPhone.
Early rumors had also suggested that the iPhone 15 Ultra will have more advanced image processing skills than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but given the current situation regarding the Ultra's development, we're inclined to believe that these superior processing skills will be making their way to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, instead.
And lastly, the iPhone 15 Pro Max might have a dual-lens front-facing camera, improving upon its predecessor's single 12MP front-facing TrueDepth camera.
