Samsung has been using a 200MP primary camera on its flagship Galaxy phones for a while now. Apple may supposedly join the list in 2027, as it is reportedly evaluating such a sensor for future use.
Several upcoming flagship Android phones from Chinese brands due to launch this year will adopt a 200MP primary camera.
iPhone’s camera quality may get its biggest upgrade in years
Apple currently uses a 48MP primary camera on the iPhone 17 Pro. It has been using the same sensor since at least 2022, with little to no major upgrades. More importantly, the sensor size has remained unchanged. This limits how much the company can push image quality through hardware alone.
In contrast, Chinese Android makers have moved aggressively toward larger, higher-resolution sensors. Oppo’s upcoming Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra are rumored to use a 1/1.12″ 200MP primary camera sensor this year. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra uses an even bigger 1-inch type primary camera sensor, albeit with a lower 50MP resolution.
According to Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station, Apple is reportedly testing a 200MP 1/1.12-inch camera for a future iPhone.
Besides higher resolution, the sensor is also physically larger, allowing it to capture more light and details. The added resolution also enables high-quality in-sensor zoom, allowing for optical-like results at up to 3x.
How a 200MP camera will improve image quality
For context, a 1/1.12-inch 200MP sensor is roughly 30% larger than the iPhone 17 Pro’s 1/1.28-inch sensor. This should lead to a huge improvement in image quality and sharpness, especially in low-light. Plus, the higher resolution allows for pixel binning, enabling the camera to merge data from adjacent pixels to produce cleaner and better images.
Apple already uses this on its 48MP iPhone cameras, typically combining four pixels into one (4-to-1 binning) to produce more detailed 12MP or 24MP photos.
There’s one big downside to a bigger camera sensor, though. It would almost certainly require Apple to increase the size of the rear camera bump. That’s not something the company might be inclined to do. But with Chinese Android flagships already pulling ahead in image quality, Apple may not have much room to hold back.
Again, nothing is confirmed, and Apple may eventually decide against using a 200MP camera sensor on the 2027 iPhone Pro next year.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
