Although it's safe to assume we're still several months away from being absolutely sure of any of the upgrades planned by Apple for next fall's iPhone 13 lineup, a number of different reports have all hinted at various camera improvements of late.
Because there's rarely this much smoke without fire in the rumor mill leading up to a new iPhone launch event, it feels essentially guaranteed that at least some of the recently speculated imaging enhancements will indeed make their way to worldwide stores in September or October 2021.
One such potentially game-changing revision first made the rounds a couple of months back courtesy of highly respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and now another similarly trustworthy source (via MacRumors) corroborates the impending upgrade... with an interesting twist.
Wider aperture for everybody?!
Unlike Kuo, who predicted just the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max models would vastly improve the ultra-wide-angle shooting capabilities of their predecessors, Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Thomas O'Malley reportedly expect to see the change implemented on all four 2021 family members.
That's right, the iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max could well share a rear-facing ultra-wide snapper with f/1.8 aperture, up from the f/2.4 spec of last year's iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.
A lower number corresponds to wider aperture, mind you, which basically means more light would be allowed to reach the image sensor, undoubtedly leading to sharper pictures captured by said lens in challenging scenarios and settings. Put even more simply, the iPhone 13 family is tipped to considerably improve the low-light ultra-wide-angle performance of its forerunners.
Impressively, if Apple pulls off this upgrade across the board, a presumably affordable iPhone 13 mini could also eclipse something like the Galaxy S21 Ultra from this particular standpoint. Samsung's pricey new jumbo-sized flagship only comes with an f/2.2 ultra-wide camera on its back, as do the S21, S21+, Note 20, and Note 20 Ultra.
Unfortunately, there's no word on any of that primary photography, telephoto lens, or LiDAR scanner stuff in this hot new report, which leaves us with the inside information leaked out of Japan just a few weeks back and some educated guesses. Come to thing of it, we seem to know lots about the iPhone 13 camera.
There's a decent chance the Time-of-Flight 3D depth sensor (aka LiDAR) will be expanded to all four main iPhone 13 variants, in which case the telephoto lens could remain the one and only differentiator between the "Pro" and "regular" camera systems. Unless, of course, the Pro and Pro Max models have a larger primary sensor in the pipeline, which is a possibility that a couple of relatively well-connected insiders and tipsters recently floated on social media.
Elsewhere, the size of the notch is expected (by some) to be reduced (at last!!!) thanks to either an overhauled facial recognition mechanism or modernized Touch ID technology taking Face ID's place entirely. The latter obviously seems like a long shot, and so does an iPhone 12S name, but if the design is set to go unchanged from 2020's iPhone 12 series, that actually sounds like a logical next step.
Granted, with so many of these recent rumors and reports contradicting one another and some of them also keeping things far too vague to be taken seriously, it's probably wise, well, not to take much seriously until summer at the earliest.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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