Earlier this year, there were multiple reports that Apple was working on a major upgrade for the iPhone 14's front-facing camera. Now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has confirmed these rumors with new details from suppliers Apple has chosen for the components of the selfie camera, which will receive its biggest upgrade in years with the iPhone 14.
As the analyst in a blog post and on Twitter announced, Apple has now determined its suppliers for the new front camera of the iPhone 14. Some of them are already partners of Apple, such as Sony, which will continue to supply the camera sensors for the new iPhone. The lenses will be supplied by Genius and Largan, while the new focus module comes from Alps and Luxshare. For the camera module on the front, however, Apple will have Cowell and, for the first time, the South Korean company LG Innotek as partners. The partnership between Apple and LG Innotek was already reported last month after the Cupertino company excluded components from Chinese camera manufacturers due to quality issues.
Front camera could get autofocus
According to Kuo's report, the iPhone 14 will be Apple's biggest front-facing camera upgrade in years. The analyst expects the new camera to feature autofocus, which should result in significantly better quality photos and videos than the current fixed-focus camera. Other new features include a six-part lens instead of the previous five-part lens. The iPhone 14's front-facing camera is also expected to have a larger f/1.9 aperture. For comparison, the iPhone's front-facing camera has remained almost unchanged since the iPhone 11, when Apple introduced a new 12-megapixel lens with f/2.2 aperture.
More camera upgrades for the iPhone 14 Pro
While the selfie camera improvements are planned for the entire iPhone 14 lineup, some of the upgrades will be limited to the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro models. Previous reports have suggested that this year's Pro models will get a new wide-angle camera with a 48-megapixel sensor capable of recording video in 8K resolution. Unfortunately, the entry-level iPhone 14 models are rumored to get the same rear cameras with wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses, each with 12 megapixels.
Will Apple eliminate the notch?
Of course, that doesn't mean that other aspects of these lenses won't be improved. The iPhone 14 will be available in four different versions: two regular models and two Pro models. The mini iPhone is expected to be discontinued and make way for a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max while the Pro models will be the same size as the current generation. But this time with a new display design that eliminates the notch. In addition, reportedthat some of the new iPhones will be equipped with the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 while others (presumably the iPhone 14 Pro models) will get the new A16 chip. We will see whether this will actually be the case in the fall at the latest. The launch of the iPhone 14 series is expected in September. (Image: Ian Zelebo x Jon Prosser)
