Here's Why iPhone 14 Pro May Have A Larger Camera Bump
The upcoming iPhone 14 has been the subject of ample speculation, something fueled in part by allegedly leaked schematics showing what looks like an overall chunkier design and a much larger amount of space dedicated to the rear camera setup. Some Apple fans believe the design change on the back panel will house substantially upgraded cameras, at least when compared with the 12MP sensor currently available in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.
If the schematics are indeed legitimate and this is how the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro will be constructed, the camera bump on the back of the device would add roughly half a centimeter's worth of thickness to the whole piece — and that's on top of the 0.15mm of thickness that may also be added, going by the design leak. With the size and weight of smartphones being an ongoing consideration for many customers, why would Apple want to increase the size — and most likely bulk — of the camera assembly?
It's for the cameras
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for Tianfeng International Securities, says the leaked design change has everything to do with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro's new wide camera. In a tweeted response to 9to5Mac's story about the next iPhone's increased bulk, Kuo explains, "The main reason for the larger and more prominent rear-camera bump of the 14 Pro/Pro Max is upgrading the wide camera to 48MP."
Kuo goes on to claim the new 48MP camera is simply larger than the current 12MP camera found in the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, increasing both the diagonal length of the contact image sensor by up to 35%, and the height of the lens itself by up to 10%. This may seem insignificant when talking about centimeters and millimeters, but every little factor adds up and can mean the difference between some users feeling like a phone is too heavy or too small.
While the (currently speculated) increase in bulk for the next wave of iPhones may be disappointing to some, it does seem justifiable. As tiny and powerful as modern technologies have become, they're still bound by the limitations of reality and physics.