iPhone 16 Pro Max Rumored to Feature Bigger, More Advanced Main Camera Sensor

The iPhone 16 Pro Max will feature a bigger, more advanced main camera sensor to deliver improved photography and videography capabilities, according to new information coming out of Asia.

iPhone 15 Pro Cameras
The claim comes from "Digital Chat Station," a Weibo user responsible for a range of details about the camera technology of upcoming iPhone models. According to the latest post on the matter, the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max will be an "image flagship," suggesting that it will be heavily focused on its camera capabilities.

The device's main camera will apparently feature a customized 48-megapixel Sony IMX903 sensor with advanced features like a stacked design for better performance, a 14-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for high-quality image data conversion, and Digital Gain Control (DCG) for better dynamic range and noise control.

The Weibo user also reiterated their previous claim that the ‌‌iPhone 16‌ Pro‌ Max will feature a 12% larger camera sensor that is 1/1.14-inches in size. The ‌‌iPhone‌ 14‌ Pro and ‌‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro models currently feature a 1/1.28-inch sensor. A larger sensor could improve the main ‌iPhone‌ camera's dynamic range and background blur, as well as substantially enhance low-light photography capabilities since a bigger surface area can capture more light with the same shutter speed and aperture.

The leaker also mentioned in passing that the next-generation high-end iPhones will feature a slightly more curved screen design, iterating on the design introduced with the ‌iPhone‌ 15 lineup last year. Corroborating information shared by MacRumors last year, the post added that the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models will have virtually the same thickness as their predecessors.

Digital Chat Station accurately revealed that the ‌iPhone‌ 15 and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Plus would feature a slightly smaller 48-megapixel sensor than the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max last year, as well as the display panel design of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 back in 2020. The ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup is expected to debut in the fall.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

Account25476 Avatar
25 months ago


Attachment Image
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
25 months ago
In my experience, even between the 14 Pro Max and the 15 Pro Max there was quite a noticeable improvement to image quality, especially on the telescopic lens. I feel a lot more confident using the 5x option now.

Would love to see a 48-mp or even a 24-mp sensor on future telescopic lenses over more zoom. Image quality is there now, but I'm hoping for better detail in future iterations (which the 48-mp sensor certainly affords).

Here's one off the 15 Pro Max 5x lens, I think it does a solid job.



Attachment Image
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krspkbl Avatar
25 months ago
yey a bigger camera bump!? just what i wanted.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HeavenDynamic Avatar
25 months ago
So again the giant phone having a better camera? That sucks. Give it to the smaller 16 Pro as well!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
25 months ago
I've heard the iPhone 18 will have an even better camera, and possibly a faster processor too. It's a few years out so take it with a pinch of salt, but I will say my sources seem pretty confident.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bodhisattva Avatar
25 months ago

In my experience, even between the 14 Pro Max and the 15 Pro Max there was quite a noticeable improvement to image quality, especially on the telescopic lens. I feel a lot more confident using the 5x option now.

Would love to see a 48-mp or even a 24-mp sensor on future telescopic lenses over more zoom. Image quality is there now, but I'm hoping for better detail in future iterations (which the 48-mp sensor certainly affords).

Here's one off the 15 Pro Max 5x lens, I think it does a solid job.


As a part time professional photographer (shooting with 5D Mark IV and an EOS R3 by Canon), image quality comes from the lens quality. The higher my pro cameras go in terms of mp are 30.4, but the ISO range is 100-32000. The trick is to have a full-frame CMOS sensor onboard. For me the bodies run $3-6k, and each lens anywhere from $2k-10k. For phones to come as far as they have considering the incredible small size, and all we can do with them, I'm amazed each time I shoot. Like many machines/tools..it's all in the hands of the artist the wields it. Great photo by the way!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)