Apple's Potential Overhaul of iPhone Selfie Camera Draws Attention

Apple’s rear-facing iPhone cameras are some of the best in the business, and nowhere is that more so than on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Its selfie cameras lag behind in terms of quality, however – but that might change with the iPhone 17, according to a new report.

In a blog post on Medium, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the front-facing lens in the upcoming iPhone will receive a major boost, which will be encouraging news to anyone who regularly uses the selfie camera and is thinking of upgrading in the next couple of years.

According to Kuo, “The front camera of the iPhone 17 will be upgraded to 24MP/6P.” Right now, the front camera in the iPhone 15 series has a 12MP lens, meaning the iPhone 17 could double up on the megapixel count. That, Kuo says, “will significantly improve the image quality.”

Apple has not upgraded the megapixel amount of its iPhones’ front-facing cameras since the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which was the first iPhone to offer a 12MP selfie snapper, and was a step up over the iPhone XS Max’s 7MP lens. That shows just how long it’s been since Apple has boosted the megapixel count for selfie lovers.

Kuo also touched on other areas of the iPhone’s camera system in the report. For one thing, he notes that the upgraded 6P lens system in the iPhone 17 could be 100% to 120% more expensive to produce than the 5P system in the current iPhone range – if so, it’s possible that Apple could pass that price increase on to buyers.

Elsewhere, Kuo says Apple is making good progress on the iPhone 16 Pro’s periscope lens setup, which will be inherited from the iPhone 15 Pro Max and will bring much better zoom capabilities to the next Pro model. That phone will also see an improved ultra-wide camera featuring a 48MP resolution (versus the 12MP resolution of the iPhone 15 Pro’s ultra-wide lens), which will again “significantly improve image quality,” Kuo believes.

Kuo’s report also mentioned that the iPhone 16 Pro will feature a larger screen, a claim we’ve seen elsewhere. Combined with the camera upgrades, it looks like there could be a slate of improvements on the way for this year’s iPhones.