Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo doesn’t waste much time between product launches. Despite not being expected until September 2025 at the earliest, Kuo reported camera specs for the iPhone 17 in a recent blog post.
Kuo’s specs come from Genius, the primary supplier of lenses for the iPhone’s front camera. The report states that the front camera resolution will increase from 12 megapixels in the iPhone 15 and 16 to 24 in the iPhone 17. Genius will also boost lens layering quality to improve the camera’s capabilities further.
He also noted that Genius would improve the iPhone 16’s cameras over the current iPhone 15, saying, “progress on the iPhone 16 Pro’s periscope lens is on track.” The new lens design is expected to correspond with a larger-sized iPhone 16. The device will also get a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera, which Kuo noted would drastically improve quality.
An increase in resolution delivers better detail and clarity, enabling greater zoom functionality while retaining image quality. The six-element lens layering improves from five elements in the iPhone 15 and 16, and will bring further image quality enhancements, including better low-light camera performance.
As you might imagine, increasing component quality comes at a higher cost. Kuo estimates that the new lenses will more than double the costs for Genius, impacting its bottom line. That said, the company supplies several other camera components for Apple, including pancake lenses for the Vision Pro that Kuo expects will help bolster profits during 2024.
Beyond camera upgrades, the iPhone 17 may be the first to offer under-panel Face ID. The move would cut the Dynamic Island’s size for more screen real estate, but it’s not expected to remove the camera cutout altogether. Apple is expected to move to a more advanced system in a few years that removes the cutout altogether.