iPhone 16 Pro Camera May Be Less Prone to Lens Flare and Ghosting

Apple is testing a new anti-reflective optical coating technology for future iPhone cameras that could improve the quality of photos by reducing artifacts like lens flare and ghosting, claims a rumor out of Korea.

iPhone 16 Pro Perspective Feature
According to the news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, citing a company source within Apple's supply chain, Apple is looking at introducing new atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment into the iPhone camera lens manufacturing process.

ALD involves depositing materials one atomic layer at a time onto a substrate, allowing for extremely precise control over thickness and composition. Its use allows manufacturers to apply very thin layers of materials onto semiconductor devices, including camera components.

In terms of camera lenses, ALD can be used to apply anti-reflective coatings, which can help to reduce photographic artifacts like streaks of light and halos that can occur in the final image when a bright light source such as the sun shines directly into the lens.

ALD can also reduce ghosting, a type of image distortion where faint, secondary images appear in the photo, typically opposite a bright light source. This happens when light reflects back and forth between the surfaces of the lens elements and the camera sensor.

In addition, ALD-applied materials can protect against environmental damage to the camera lens system without affecting the sensor's ability to capture light effectively.

The Naver blog claims that the manufacturing process will be applied to a "Pro model" in Apple's "next-generation" iPhone lineup, which sounds like a reference to one or both premium models in the iPhone 16 series, although given the timing of the rumor, the possibility that this method is being tested for next year's iPhone 17 Pro models should not be discounted.

Both upcoming iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to include a tetraprism lens with up to 5x optical zoom – a feature that is currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max in Apple's smartphone lineup. Apple usually launches its new-generation iPhones around mid-September.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16 Pro
Tag: Naver

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Apple Watch Series 10 lineup 240909 feature

Apple Watch Could Get Blood Pressure Monitoring in 2025

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:51 am PST by
Apple is ramping up work on a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch and it could be ready as soon as 2025, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Blood pressure monitoring is a health addition that Apple has been working on for the last several years, and based on rumors, Apple wanted to debut it in 2024. The feature would not provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...

Top Rated Comments

Ifti Avatar
9 months ago
Finally, an actual useful addition!
Have had several night time photos ruined by flares from lights - even candles on a cake in a dimly lit room!
Not something I would upgrade from my 15PM for, but a useful addition nonetheless.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppZ.Zero Avatar
9 months ago
Would be great. The Lense Flares of the main camera are annoying af.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spamabyss Avatar
9 months ago
i just hope it comes to the regular iphone 16 as well. It’s much more prevalent in iphones than in most other phones and it would be a little too petty if they kept something like this reserved for the pros.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
9 months ago

reducing artifacts like lens flare
Now how will I bring out my inner J.J. Abrams and put ridiculous amounts of lens flare into EVERYTHING? ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zach-coleman Avatar
9 months ago
Better be true. They have been getting smoked by Android phones in this regard for years.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JippaLippa Avatar
9 months ago
This is something that needs to be fixed.
It's useless to have great camera if you get flares all the time.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)