iPhone 14 Pro tipped for elite camera upgrade

(Image credit: Apple)

published 30 August 2022

The iPhone 14 launch is just days away, and while we've had weeks and weeks of rumours and leaks there are still some details we don't know. But you can strike another spec off the don't-know list because according to respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models are getting an important camera upgrade.

According to Kuo, the two Pro models' ultra-wide cameras will be upped from the current 1.0 micrometer pixels to 1.4 micrometers. That means significantly improved low light shooting, because larger pixels receive more light. However, the downside is that the components for that improved camera are significantly more expensive than for the current configuration: up to 70% in some cases.

If these latest reports are true, and there's no reason to believe they aren't, then they're yet more evidence that while the Pro and Pro Max are likely to be more expensive this year, their cameras are going to be significantly better than the iPhone 13 models'.

What to expect from the iPhone 14 Pro cameras

We've seen repeated reports that the two Pro models of the iPhone 14 will get a new 48MP wide lens that can record 8K video, and that the front camera will have an improved sensor with better low light performance and autofocus. The two most expensive iPhone 14 models will also get improved displays and larger batteries, and there should be an improved processor to handle more advanced imaging features.

The downside? They're going up in price, although we don't know by how much just yet. But we don't have long to wait: we're expecting to see all four iPhone 14 models unveiled at the Apple event on 7 September, which is now just days away.

I hope the price hike isn't too significant, because the thing I use my iPhone 13 Pro for the most is photography and it's going to be hard to resist the pull of an even better imaging system, better lenses and more megapixels. And that's before you factor in the always-on display and the replacement of the dreaded notch with something a little less obvious. If you can afford it and you're serious about shooting photos or videos, the iPhone 14 Pro looks like it's going to be the pick of the range for all but the most demanding – and affluent – creative pros.

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).