New camera features on iPhone 18 and Fold: Analysts and leakers comment
Analysts with insight into Apple's supply chain, as well as a Chinese leaker, have commented on the camera equipment for the 2026 iPhones.
iPhones of the 2025 vintage.
(Image: heise medien / Sebastian Trepesch)
Apple is apparently working on various new camera technologies that have not existed in iPhones before. At least, that's what analysts and a Chinese leaker claim. This concerns both the standard model of the iPhone 18 planned for autumn 2026 as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and the first iPhone foldable.
Has Apple solved the under-display problem?
Analysts at the major bank JP Morgan believe that Apple will equip its first foldable smartphone with a completely new selfie camera. It is said to be a model that disappears under the screen and still packs 24-megapixel resolution. Such an “under-display camera,” which would avoid notches or holes in the screen, has already been rumored before, but never with such a high resolution. So far, Apple has installed a maximum of 18 megapixels for selfie shots on the iPhone 17 and Air, most recently in the form of the useful Center Stage camera, which allows you to change the image format afterward. How Apple intends to implement this for an under-display camera remains unclear.
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While such sensors have existed in the Android world for some time, they only offer unsatisfactory resolutions up to a good 8 megapixels, and the image quality can also suffer due to the construction under the display layer. Apple's 24-megapixel camera is said to not have these problems, yet it will have six plastic lens elements, according to JP Morgan in its research paper. The analysts also write that the foldable will allegedly not have LIDAR, as is known from other iPhones on the back (useful for augmented reality, for example), and because of its thinness, will have to do without optical image stabilization. According to reports from August, there are said to be up to four cameras: a front camera for use when folded, the aforementioned under-display camera for use when unfolded, and two cameras on the back. Face ID for biometrics is reportedly missing; instead, Apple is said to rely on a fingerprint sensor in the sleep/wake button, as is known from the iPad mini, for example.
More megapixels for the other models
JP Morgan also claims to have learned that all other iPhone 18 models, i.e., 18, 18 Pro, and 18 Pro Max, will receive 24-megapixel selfie cameras for the first time. However, there will be a Dynamic Island here as usual, not an under-display format. Apple also wants to add 6 megapixels to a possibly later iPhone Air 2.
Finally, it is heard from China that Apple wants to adapt the shape of the Dynamic Island—at least for the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. The well-known leaker Digital Chat Station writes on Weibo states that Apple is working on using the so-called HIIA technology (“hole-in-active-area”), which could reduce the size of the selfie camera. HIIA is also said to be useful for under-display cameras. Digital Chat Station writes that due to the new Dynamic Island, “the screen shape could change”– whether there will be changes to the positioning of the Dynamic Island remains unclear.
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