Kuo: iPhone 13 lineup to feature wide camera lens almost identical to iPhone 12

According to credible Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 13 lineup, slated for launch in the second half of the year, will feature the same wide-angle lens as the current iPhone 12 series, offering no tangible improvement to any of the three. lenses on the next iPhone.

In a note to investors obtained by MacRumors, focusing primarily on developments and changes within Apple’s supply chain, Kuo says the iPhone 13‌ mini, iPhone 13‌ and iPhone 13‌ Pro will feature the same 7P wide-angle lens with an aperture 1.6 than their respective iPhone 12‌ counterparts. The larger ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro Max will have a ƒ1.5 aperture wide-angle lens, a marginal increase over the ƒ1.6 aperture on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Kuo says Sunny Optical will be the new supplier of the 7P wide-angle lens, adding that mass production of the camera system could start as early as May. Longer term, Kuo says the demand for optical lenses for Apple devices will only increase significantly over the next several years thanks to AR and Apple Car.

We expect Sunny Optical to pass the order quality check of 7P wide angle lenses for ‌iPhone 13‌. Since the iPhone 13 mini, 13 and 13 Pro share the same f1.6 7P wide-angle lens (compared to 13 Pro Max’s f1.5 7P wide-angle lens), the order of Sunny Optical is therefore the most requested. We estimate that Sunny Optical will ship the iPhone 13‌ 7P wide angle lens to LG Innotek as early as May.

While the 2021 iPhones, according to Kuo, won’t have a significantly different wide-angle lens, rumor has it that there are improvements to the ultra-wide lens. According to analysts at Barclays, all four ‌iPhone 13‌ models will feature enhanced Ultra Wide lenses with an aperture of ƒ / 1.8, compared to the ƒ / 2.4 aperture on the ‌ iPhone 12‌.

Camera lens aside, well-connected display analyst Ross Young predicted that the camera sensor size of the ‌‌iPhone 13‌‌ Pro and ‌‌iPhone 13‌‌ Pro Max will increase. While Young doesn’t say which of the three cameras will get a larger sensor, a larger sensor would in turn have larger pixels. In other words, the sensor could collect more light, which would result in materially better image quality.

Earlier this month, Kuo announced that Apple plans to include a smaller notch and larger batteries for the entire ‌iPhone 13‌ lineup. A 120Hz ProMotion display will be exclusive to the high-end Pro and Pro Max models, according to the analyst.

Previously, Kuo also said that the iPhone 12 Pro Max‌’s sensor displacement image stabilization will extend to the entire ‌iPhone 13‌ lineup.