The iPhone 14 Pro may deliver more detailed images thanks to a considerably larger sensor and smaller pixels, according to unverified technical information shared on Chinese social media site Weibo.
A recent post from the account "Fishing 8" on Weibo listed a large number of the iPhone 14 Pro's technical camera specifications. In line with a multitude of rumors about the iPhone 14 Pro's Wide camera from over the past year, the post claims that the iPhone 14 Pro will feature a 48MP camera. As a result of the increased number of megapixels, the iPhone 14 Pro's Wide camera pixels will be smaller, purportedly measuring at 1.22µm. This is a reduction of 0.68µm compared to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The sensor is believed to be a Sony unit, like those of the iPhone 13 Pro. Despite the change in pixel size, the iPhone 14 Pro will allegedly feature the same Dual Pixel Auto Focus (DPAF) system, marketed by Apple as "Focus Pixels," that the iPhone has offered since the iPhone 6 in 2014, and the same ability to record 16:9 HDR video at up to 60fps.
The device's sensor is said to be 1/1.3-inches in width, a 21.2 percent increase over the 1/1.65-inch sensor width of the Wide camera on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. This translates to an approximate sensor area increase of 57 percent compared to the iPhone 13 Pro.
This increase in sensor size requires a larger lens to capture more light, leading to a noticeably larger rear camera array. The 1/1.3-inch sensor size is the same as Samsung's 50MP GN1 sensor, which is used in the Google Pixel 6.
Overall, the information suggests that the iPhone 14 Pro will offer larger, higher-resolution images with finer details, but at the risk of poorer low-light performance and images that are more susceptible to noise. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that he believes that the camera quality of the iPhone 14 Pro models will "elevate mobile phone camera photography to a new level."
The Weibo account that shared these technical specifications frequently posts detailed camera information, but it does not have a track record of leaks about future Apple devices and MacRumors cannot verify the authenticity of its post, so the rumor should be taken with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the iPhone 14 Pro is widely believed to feature a larger, 48MP Wide camera sensor, so the shared technical specifications seem to be plausible and broadly in line with other rumors.
Update Apr 5: This article originally stated that the new sensor would be 21 percent larger than the corresponding sensor on the iPhone 13 Pro, but it is actually approximately 21 percent wider and 57 percent larger.
