Robert Triggs/Android Authority
long story short
- The iPhone 16 Pro series may get what’s called ALD lens coating.
- This coating reduces lens flare and glare in photos.
- Xiaomi and OPPO already use ALD lens coating, while Sony and vivo also use similar advanced coatings.
The iPhone 16 series is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2024, and there are already many rumors. The latest leaks suggest that Apple’s new phone could rival the best Android camera phones with new lens-related features.
Korean blogger yeux1122 claimed on Naver (h/t: mike rumor) Apple is testing new camera lens coatings for the iPhone 16 Pro series. More specifically, the blogger says it’s an atomic layer deposition (ALD) lens coating that helps reduce lens glare.
The iPhone 15 Pro series also reportedly offers a “nano-scale” coating to reduce lens flare, but reports online suggest the cameras are still prone to the issue. Therefore, more advanced lens coatings can help eliminate these artifacts and improve overall image quality.
Nothing new about Android phones
However, Apple is not the first smartphone brand to use ALD lens coating. Xiaomi is one of the first companies to use this coating on the Mi 12S Ultra in 2022. It has since been used by high-end phones like the Mi 13 Pro, Mi 13 Ultra, Mi 14 and the latest Mi 14 Ultra. The company is also applying ALD coating to cheaper phones, such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, which costs about $550, and the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G, which costs about $300. Xiaomi isn’t the only Android OEM to use this technology either, OPPO’s mid- to high-end Reno 10 series also uses this coating.
We’ve also seen brands like Sony and vivo offering Zeiss’ T* lens coating to reduce glare. This was very apparent when I compared the Pixel 7 Pro to the vivo X90 Pro (see image comparison above). Overall, I prefer the Pixel’s image as the vivo’s photo is more washed out and over-sharpened, but the light sources on the vivo image are impressively tamed to the point where you can see elements in the bulb. The red spot on the left side of the Pixel image is also gone in the vivo snapshot.
So advanced lens coatings are obviously not new to some Android manufacturers. Still, we hope Apple does embrace this technology, as it will solve some long-standing issues for iPhone users.