They are already here. Just like every year, new Apple smartphones arrived on time. And as the leaks predicted, They land full of news. If we deal with photography, which is the part that interests us in this article, it is even more in the iPhone 14 generation than last year. What the cameras of the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max promise us on paper doesn’t look bad at all.

To whet our appetite, we can look at two key new features that make this year’s iPhone clearly outperform the smartphones Apple released last year. On the one hand, the main camera of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus includes a 48-megapixel sensor, compared to the 12-megapixel resolution of the equivalent unit of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus.

iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max integrate the A17 Pro processor, the first chip produced by Taiwanese company TSMC with 3 nm extreme ultraviolet (UVE) lithography. This SoC is not only responsible for processing photos but also immediacy of focusing system. In any case, we’ve only scratched the surface for now. The new Apple mobile phones promise us this.

iPhone 15, Plus, Pro and Pro Max: technical specifications

In this generation, iPhone 15 Pro Max hits the accelerator with 5x zoom feature

I suggest that we start by examining in some detail the features of the cameras developed by Apple engineers in these smartphones. The TrueDepth front camera is the same on all four versions of the iPhone 15 that Cupertino just presented. The 12-megapixel sensor features f/1.9 aperture optics and is capable of recording video at maximum resolution. 4K at 60 FPS With HDR in Dolby Vision, among other features. It doesn’t look bad, although it’s clear that Apple has put more effort into the main module’s cameras.

As I mentioned in the first lines of this article, the main camera of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus has surpassed the 12 megapixel sensor of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. Instead, they offer us a 48-megapixel sensor working in conjunction with optics with an f/1.6 aperture.

Although optical stabilization is a system, it is solved by moving the sensor less complex More than used in Pro models, as we will see below. Both phones’ ultra-wide-angle cameras include a 12-megapixel sensor and f/2.4 aperture optics, so on paper they’re essentially the same as last year’s models.

Now let’s move on to Pro reviews, the main camera of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is the same. Bet on a 48 megapixel type sensor Four Pixels It works with an optic with f/1.78 aperture. Nothing surprising so far. The most interesting thing is that the sensor is stabilized by a system. second generation displacement theoretically more sensitive than what the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus use. The ultra-wide-angle camera is the same on both Pro models: It includes a 12-megapixel sensor and optics with f/2.2 aperture.

We found the most interesting thing when examining the telephoto lenses of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Both terminals offer us an offer zoom 2x implemented in the main camera, but by resorting to grouping the photodiodes in groups of four, the resolution is reduced to 12 megapixels. iPhone 15 Pro also gives us a zoom 3x on the camera equipped with a 12-megapixel sensor and f/2.8 aperture optics.

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, which Apple released last year, have exactly the same camera set, but the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max do not have this. The latter replaces the Pro model’s 3x telephoto lens with a 5x telephoto lens (equivalent focal length 120mm) equipped with a 12-megapixel sensor that works hand in hand with an optic with f/2.8 aperture. The most interesting thing about this camera is that the sensor is fixed with a stabilizer. 3D scrolling system which is theoretically the most accurate and fastest Apple has. It will be interesting to test this when we get our hands on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Up to seven different equivalent focal lengths: 13mm to 120mm

Both the iPhone 15 Pro and the Pro Max version offer us seven different equivalent focal lengths, but it is obvious that they achieve this flexibility by affecting only three cameras in their main modules. The ultra wide angle unit offers us 0.5x macro mode and 13 mm wide angle. Main camera allows equivalent focal lengths 24mm, 28mm and 35mm. Probably not all of them will offer us the same quality, so it will be something we will try as soon as possible. And finally we have the focal lengths of the telephoto lenses: 48 mm and 120 mm.

One of the most important improvements that Apple offers in the software of these smartphones allows us to manipulate the focus and depth when using portrait mode. However, we don’t need to enable this explicitly; The artificial intelligence engine of these phones detects whether we are about to take a portrait and automatically activates this shooting mode. Another important development that should not be ignored is that, according to Apple, its engineers have improved the depth map, so the background blur of the iPhone 15 should be of higher quality than previous models.

During the presentation of these smartphones, Apple spokesmen promised us that the post-processing performed by the Photonic Engine managed to return the colors with more richness and saturation than on the iPhone 14. They also guaranteed tandem work. Results from the Quad Pixel sensor and processing engine increase the level of detail and reduce noise in low-light shooting scenarios. This is one of the weak points of almost all mobile phones, so it will be interesting to see if the iPhone 15 can measure up, especially the Pro models.

On the other hand, the fifth revision of HDR technology developed by Apple technicians promises to be able to optimize the balance between the backlight and the light it reflects so that the colors of the object we photograph are reliable. One final note: According to Apple, the ProRAW mode implemented in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max recovers four times more resolution than previous phones of this brand. It sounds good, but we still have to try it to evaluate it. Next stop: our in-depth analysis. Engaged.

More information: manzana

In Xataka: The effort of the largest iPhone 15 factory on the planet reminds us that Apple is still tied to China