iPhone 14 could get a fancy new front-facing selfie camera

The rear cameras on the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are extremely impressive. The front selfie camera however has always failed to wow but that is likely to change with the iPhone 14. 

While the front-facing camera has previously been supplied by a Chinese firm, the rear cameras are supplied by the Korean-based LG Innotek. According to ET News, Apple had planned to switch suppliers for the front-facing camera over to LG Innotek for the iPhone 15, but due to quality problems that move is happening sooner. 

This is great news for those that love a good selfie, as the LG Innotek camera is likely to be more advanced, adding new features such as autofocus. The bad news is that the cost of the LG Innotek unit is expected to be three times that of the original front camera, which could result in a higher handset price for users. 

The current TrueDepth on the front of all iPhone 13 models provides a 1/3.6 in sensor with 12MP images and 4K video, and featuring an f/2.2 aperture. While we don't know what specs the LG Innotek unit will provide, they are likely to be an improvement. 

As a point of reference, Samsung's S22 Ultra uses a 40MP 1/2.82 in sensor, while the S22 and S22+ both use a 1/3.24 in 10MP sensor, which are still larger than the iPhone 13's. A larger sensor would mean better color reproduction and higher quality results, so hopefully we'll see a size increase here. 

The new unit could offer more lens elements and a wider aperture than the current offering too. The rear cameras (supplied by LG Innotek) feature up to f/1.5 apertures and up to seven elements. 

The biggest difference though – and reason for the cost increase – is added technology. The addition of autofocus or sensor-shift technology is said to be a possibility. It's not clear if this more expensive module will change the final price of the iPhone 14 or if Apple will absorb the cost itself. But one thing is clear – those selfie shots are likely to look a bit better after September.