iPhone 13 leak just revealed two big upgrades for ultra-wide camera

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Get ready for much better photos

iPhone 13/iPhone 12S concept
(Image credit: Jermaine Smit/LetsGoDigital)

The ultra-wide camera on the iPhone lets you get really creative with your shots, and it looks like the iPhone 13 will offer two big upgrades for that lens to make your pics even sharper.

Apple is expected to introduce upgraded ultrawide-angle lenses for the iPhone 13, per a new report. The lenses would feature sensor-shift OIS (optical image stabilization) and automatic focus (AF). 

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-13-release-date-price-specs-leaks

Per DigiTimes, Japanese VCM (voice coil motor) suppliers have asked its Taiwan-based contractors to expand production by 40% by the end of June. Both Alps Alpine and Mizumi are the main suppliers for the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Interestingly, the Taiwan-based manufacturers will only expand production to 80% of what's demanded by both Alps Alpine and Mizumi in case orders end up being smaller than anticipated. 

The expected increase in production will go towards rear cameras in iPhone models expected to launch in the latter half of 2021. 

iPhone 13: What is sensor shift OIS?

Sensor shift OIS is a system in which the sensor itself is floating, allowing it to move counter to a person's hand movements. This type of image stabilization comes in handy when taking zoomed photos, as every tiny movement is more pronounced. Sensor shift OIS was first introduced with the iPhone 12 Pro Max's telephoto lens. With iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max, it seems that Apple plans on bringing this tech to the other sensors as well. 

For the iPhone 13, it's expected that sensor shift OIS will be on both the wide and ultrawide lenses. It's uncertain if the same technology will touch the front-facing camera. 

This aligns with a January report which suggested that the upcoming iPhone 13 would see sensor shift OIS trickle down to wide lenses on other iPhone 13 models as well. These lenses would also include autofocus. 

Other rumors about the wide and ultrawide lenses have been trickling out over the past month. A big one was that the ultrawide lens on iPhone 13 will have a f/1.8 aperture as opposed to f/2.4. While the number is smaller, it means the aperture, or the amount of light that's able to hit the sensor, is larger. 

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.