Everything you need to know about iPhone 15 camera specifications

With each iPhone release, Apple adds new functionality to the camera system, and the iPhone 15 series is no exception. MacRumors Get detailed information about the camera systems in the ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup, from the standard ‌iPhone 15‌ with an upgraded 48MP camera to the iPhone 15 Pro Max with the new telephoto lens.

iPhone 15 and 15 Plus

• main camera: 48 MP image sensor, ƒ/1.6 aperture
• Ultra Wide Camera: 12 MP image sensor, ƒ/2.4 aperture

The base models ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus are expected to feature an all-new 48MP Sony image sensor, which is a significant upgrade from the 12MP main camera in iPhone 14. The increase in pixels will allow for higher-resolution photos with improved detail. It should be noted that this claim has been made repeatedly by a variety of sources — including industry analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo, along with Weibo user “Digital Chat Station.”

The ‌iPhone 15‌ is not expected to use the Sony IMX-803 image sensor from the iPhone 14 Pro, and will instead use a different Sony sensor with improved capabilities.

There is evidence that Apple tested different configurations of the base model ‌iPhone 15‌, one of which featured the rumored stacked camera sensor system, while the other did not. It is currently unclear whether or not the stacked sensor system will be present in the final units. Stacked camera sensors allow for faster readout speeds and improved low-light photography.

No major upgrades are expected for the ultra-wide camera, which is expected to continue to have a 12MP resolution and an ƒ/2.4 aperture.

iPhone 15 Pro

• main camera: 48 MP, Sony IMX-803 image sensor, ƒ/1.78 aperture
• telephoto camera: 12.7 MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture
• Ultra Wide Camera: 13.4 MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture

Regarding the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌, the improvements focus primarily on the telephoto and ultra-wide cameras, with the main camera still using the same Sony IMX-803 image sensor found in the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌. This information is contradictory previous rumors Which indicates that the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and Pro Max will use the Sony IMX-903 image sensor. Both the ultra-wide and telephoto cameras will receive upgrades over the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌’s 12MP cameras, allowing for improved image quality and higher-resolution photos.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

• main camera: 48 MP, Sony IMX-803 image sensor, ƒ/1.78 aperture
• telephoto camera: 12.7 MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture, periscope lens
• Ultra Wide Camera: 13.4 MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture

The ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max is the most interesting of the lineup so far. MacRumors It has been confirmed with industry sources that the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max will be equipped with an all-new periscope lens system for the Telephoto camera, confirming previous claims from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. With the periscope zoom technology, we can expect significant improvements in the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max’s zoom capabilities. For example, the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max is limited to 3x zoom, but the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max is expected to be between 5x and 10x.

Unlike most cameras that have an image sensor directly below the viewfinder, folded optical systems use angled mirrors to reflect light back toward the image sensor. The shift of orientation is what allows for optical zooms beyond what’s possible with a standard telephoto camera system.

It is likely that Apple decided to make the periscope lens exclusive to the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max for the time being due to space limitations. According to information from our sources, the camera module used in the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max is, to some extent, larger than the camera module in the smaller ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ and iPhone 15 Pro‌ models. It appears that Apple increased the size of the camera module to accommodate the periscope lens hardware, which in turn required other internal components such as the center frame assembly to be changed accordingly.

And in 2024, the iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to increase in size to 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, giving Apple room for the periscope lens on both the Pro and Pro Max models. As Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out, periscope zoom won’t be limited to the larger Pro Max in the ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup.

Besides periscope zoom, the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max will feature the same 48MP IMX-803 image sensor and Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras as the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌.

It is worth noting that the information presented here is Pre-production informationand may not necessarily reflect the exact hardware of the mass production units, but it represents the best view we have of what Apple was planning for the new ‌iPhone‌ lineup.

To read more about what to expect, check out our rumor feed for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.