Apple’s next iPhone 15 models will be feature Sony’s latest state-of-the-art image sensors.
Compared to standard sensors, Sony image sensors double the saturation signal for each pixel, allowing more light to be captured, reducing underexposure and overexposure. Nikkei says, for example, that it can capture people’s faces better, even in strong backlighting.
Sony uses a semiconductor architecture that places photodiodes and transistors on separate layers to allow for more photodiodes. It’s unclear if all “iPhone 15” models will use the new sensor technology or if Apple will limit it to the high-end “iPhone 15” “Pro” models.
Rumors now suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro will include some exclusive features features not available on the standard iPhone 15 model. This includes an updated A17 chip, a faster USB-C port, more RAM, and most importantly, updated zoom camera technology.
Apple is working on a periscope telephoto lens that will improve the optical zoom capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro, allowing up for 10x optical zoom, which rivals some Android smartphones on the market.
Sony’s image sensor technology discussed here could be used for the wide-angle camera that Apple sees as the “mainstream” camera on your iPhone. This is because Apple typically uses a different technology for each lens.