The iPhone 15 could get a fantastic camera upgrade

With a little under two months until the iPhone 15 range is expected to drop, many are speculating about what may appear on the new model. Rumours have been flying around for the best part of a year now, but with the expected launch date looming closer, things are heating up.

The latest leaked information points to a substantial upgrade for the camera on the base models of the iPhone line. According to respected analyst and industry insider, Ming-Chi Kuo, the next-gen devices will feature 48MP cameras.

That's a huge upgrade. Previously, those cameras were only found on the iPhone 14 Pro models. The vanilla iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Plus had to make do with a 12MP sensor instead. That was still a decent camera, but it lacked the additional detail made possible by the 48MP one.

That should also make ProRAW functionality available on those base models. That's a big deal. As someone who enjoys photography, I'm always a little annoyed with iPhone photos. It's not that they're outwardly bad – in fact, they're often very good. 

But sometimes I want the option to edit them myself, in my own way. The standard images don't really allow for that, as they're already edited within the camera. Having the option to shoot a RAW file on occasion would offer a greater range of editing possibilities when needed.

Kuo's report states, "The wide camera CIS of the two iPhone 15 standard models will be upgraded to 48MP and adopt a new stacked CIS design."

That stacked sensor should enable higher image resolution and better image quality overall. It's unclear if the "new" in that comment refers to a redesign for the sensor, though. The 48MP sensor in last years' Pro models used a stacked sensor, so it may just be new to this range.

The new iPhone line usually drops in September. And while there has been no official date confirmed yet, it's reasonable to assume the next iteration will arrive at a similar time. That would mean we're only a few weeks away from the release.