iPhone 13 may get an improved ultra-wide camera

iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max (Image credit: Future)

It’s a fairly safe bet that there will be some sort of camera upgrades in the iPhone 13 range, but we’re becoming even more confident about what one of those upgrades will be. Specifically, the ultra-wide camera could sport more elements for a larger aperture and improved low light performance.

That’s according to a research note from Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a good track record for Apple information) seen by AppleInsider.

According to the note, Sunny Optical (a Chinese lens manufacturer) has completed Apple’s validation process on the current iPad Pro camera lens. So far so uninteresting, but supposedly the company has learned enough from the process that it may be able to supply a 7P (seven-element) lens for the iPhone 13.

From five to seven

That would apparently be for the ultra-wide camera, and would be up from a five-element lens on the iPhone 12 range. So what do the extra elements do? Well, in this latest note Kuo seemingly just mentions improved performance, but previously he’d suggested that the ultra-wide camera would have an f/1.8 aperture.

On the iPhone 12 range the aperture is f/2.4, so this change would mean a larger lens opening, allowing more light in for improved low light performance.

The same claim has also previously been made by Barclays analysts, though they reckon all four iPhone 13 models will get the upgraded snapper, while Kuo has only mentioned the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

So exactly which phones will get an improved ultra-wide camera is unclear, but with this latest information it looks more likely that at least some will.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.