All iPhone 14 Models Feature New Rear-Facing Ambient Light Sensor

All four iPhone 14 models feature dual ambient light sensors for the first time, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices.

iPhone 14 Pro Rear Camera
According to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, all iPhone 14 models are equipped with a new ambient light sensor on the back of the devices, whereas previous iPhone models only have a single ambient light sensor above the display. Panzarino said the sensor helps to both adjust display brightness and determine exposure for the rear camera system.

In his iPhone 14 Pro review for Mashable, Stan Schroeder said he held an iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro side by side against bright light, and then immediately went into a dark room, and found the 14 Pro was more responsive at adapting the display's brightness.

This is just one of several smaller hardware changes on the iPhone 14 models, with another one being improved GPS accuracy on Pro models.

Related Roundup: iPhone 14
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...

Top Rated Comments

Squillace Avatar
31 months ago

No one is going to care when buying this on the 14. It’s very cool, but a quality of life improvement that no one will know about. Why would Apple even bother putting it on the 14?

Oh well, Apple wants to sell the pro anyways. ?‍♂️
Because using Apple devices is about the experience.

It's thanks to little details like these, barely known by wide public, that people can find satisfaction in using an iPhone, even the cheapest one. Things they aren't aware of that contributes to a nice usage experience.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
31 months ago
Interesting, you would think the rear camera be able to determine light levels with built-in sensors. Or use the other cameras (not selected) for the same thing.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
QuarterSwede Avatar
31 months ago

Because using Apple devices is about the experience.

It's thanks to little details like these, barely known by wide public, that people can find satisfaction in using an iPhone, even the cheapest one. Things they aren't aware of that contributes to a nice usage experience.
It really is the little things that make the overall experience good.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
utsava Avatar
31 months ago
just spitballing here, but what if the rear ambient light sensor on the pros is used to better determine when the always on display should turn off (in a pocket, etc)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
31 months ago

Interesting, you would think the rear camera be able to determine light levels with built-in sensors. Or use the other cameras (not selected) for the same thing.
Imagine if the user is taking a selfie or using FaceTime indoors in front of a bright window. The front ambient sensor probably wouldn't crank up the display brightness very high. Activating the rear camera for this situation would use too much power.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxray Avatar
31 months ago
I hope this works as great as it sounds. It sucks being in those environments when your brightness keeps changing even though you override it cuz the front sensor keeps detecting changes.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)