Smaller notch in this year’s iPhones – another report – 9to5Mac

A new report earlier reflects that this year’s iPhones – possibly the name of the iPhone 12S – will have a smaller level.

We expect the design of this year’s models to be very similar to the iPhone 12, but a MacOtakara reported earlier this month suggested that Apple would manage to shrink the screen notch …

The company also changed the position of the top receiver to reduce the size of the TrueDepth camera, allowing for a smaller notch on the iPhone 13 models. Previous rumors also claim that the entire iPhone 13 series will include the LiDAR scanner, not just the Pro models.

Today’s Digitimes report collects a number of supply chain reports about the changes to the cameras in this year’s phones, including a smaller notch.

Face ID will also change the design and reduce the size of the notch […] To reduce the notch size, Apple has adopted a design change that combines the emitter and receiver of the dot pattern into a single unit, similar to the LiDAR scanner on the back of the iPhone 12 Pro models.

There’s a lot of technology in the carving of Apple’s current iPhone models:

Currently, the dot projector – the infrared emitter – is on the right side of the notch while you are looking at the phone, while the infrared camera – the receiver – is on the left side. Combining it into a single module can significantly reduce the width of the notch.

There have been a number of reports of camera improvements this year, especially in the ultra-wide lens.

First, Kuo expects the aperture to be enlarged from f / 2.4 to f / 1.8. Even if it is equal, it can let in more than twice as much light, which significantly improves the illumination of dim light. This should especially make sharper and cleaner night shots possible.

Second, sources indicate that the number of elements in the lens will increase from five to six. There are pros and cons to adding elements to a lens, but if a manufacturer takes an existing lens design and adds elements, it is usually done to reduce distortion, which is especially important for wide-angle lenses.

Finally, he expects the ultra wide lens to get autofocus for the first time. The current ultra-wide lens has fixed focus. This may sound surprising, but is generally not a major issue in many wide-angle lenses, as it is mostly used for landscapes and urban spirit, where everything shot is far enough away to be in focus. Switching to autofocus, however, will be useful for closer wide-angle shots.

Digitimes also suggests that optical image stabilization (OIS) be upgraded on three of the models. There are two ways to implement OIS, by moving the lens elements or the sensor to compensate for the cameras. It is better to move the sensor because it is lighter than the lens so that it responds better. At the moment, only the iPhone 12 Pro Max has sensor OIS, but today’s report claims that it will come to all four models this year.

The site also reflects earlier reports that this year’s lenses will have more elements to reduce distortion, suggesting that Apple will upgrade the contact image sensor to increase resolution. Personally, I consider the latter claim to be a sketchy idea, but it will be interesting to see if we hear the same from other sources.

Display: ConceptsiPhone

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