It was previously reported that the iPhone 16 Pro's ultra-wide-angle camera will be upgraded to 48 million pixels, but a new rumor claims that Samsung (not Sony) will provide these image sensors after the two iPhone 18 Pro models.
The 48-megapixel sensor will be used in the ultra-wide-angle camera of the iPhone 16 Pro series. Previous rumors suggested that Apple was considering Samsung as a potential supplier for the camera.
Uncharacteristically, Samsung flatly denied the rumors. However, it's possible that Samsung's denial was just bad timing. Ming-Chi Kuo said in a report published directly on X that Samsung will join the iPhone camera business within two years to serve the iPhone 18 Pro series.
The post stated that Samsung has set up a dedicated team to meet Apple's needs, which may be similar to the structure of the company's screen business unit that provides OLED displays for iPhones.
If true, this means Apple will have two 48-megapixel cameras on the rear. Therefore, the telephoto camera will be the last to use a 12-megapixel sensor.
Assuming Samsung's CIS is approved, this will mean that Sony will lose its position as the exclusive supplier of iPhone image sensors. It is also reported that Sony has also lost its exclusive supplier status for Apple's Vision Pro screens because the supplier is said to have refused to increase production capacity.
It is rumored that the iPhone 16 Pro will also use the existing iPhone 15 Pro Max’s four-prism lens to achieve 5x zoom.