The iPhone 12 has just barely launched, but we already have some idea what next year’s lineup could look like — according to TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s 2021 iPhones will keep the new form factor and screen sizes introduced with the iPhone 12 line, but offer an improved ultrawide camera on the high-end Pro and Pro Max models (via MacRumors).
Kuo predicted the iPhone 12 line and now seems set to reveal what to expect from the 2021 models nearly a year before they launch. This time, Kuo says the ultrawide camera of the Pro and Pro Max will be upgraded from the current f/2.4, five-element lens setup to an f/1.8, six-element lens with autofocus. The larger aperture should let in more light, potentially enhancing low-light shots, and we’re curious to see if the autofocus and an increased number of lens elements might make it easier to take great ultrawide pictures.
The report quotes Kuo as saying that the next series of iPhones will come in the same four sized models as the iPhone 12 range. Kuo also expects that all the 2022 iPhones (tentatively called iPhone 14 series) will be equipped with the f/1.8, 6P (six-element) ultra-wide camera. Further, the analyst said that Taiwanese camera lens module supplier Largan is likely to be the major supplier of the voice coil motors (VCM) that will be used for the improved ultra-wide camera. Largan is expected to receive about 70 percent of VCM orders for iPhone 13 cameras, as against the 50 percent VCM orders for the iPhone 12.
Further, the research note quotes Kuo as saying that the shipments of the iPhone 13 series will increase year-on-year. This will be due several factors like a more robust 5G infrastructure in the second half of 2021 and return to Apple’s September timeframe for iPhone launch.
Less than a month after the iPhone 12 series launch, reports about the next iPhone series have started coming in already. Earlier, a tipster had said that the supposed iPhone 13 series will come with a smaller notch than the new iPhone 12 series.
