While this year's iPhone lineup will not be unveiled until the end of this year, rumors have already started to surface regarding Apple's 2022 and even 2023 iPhone models. And while these kinds of rumors must not be taken at face value as they can be wrong and plans can always change, especially in such a long period of time, they also often give us clues on features and improvements ahead of time. One of the newest Apple rumors floating around comes from renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and talks about Apple's 2022 iPhone lineup, which may be called the iPhone 14 when it sees the light by the end of next year (via 9to5Mac).

One relevant bit here is that Apple is seemingly planning to ship 48MP cameras on both the Pro and the Pro Max models of these phones, up from 12MP on the current phones. Apple has been shipping 12MP cameras since the iPhone 6S in 2015. While cameras are not a megapixel game by any means, 48MP and 64MP cameras in most current phones produce 12MP and 16MP shots, respectively, using something called pixel binning, which combines 4 pixels into one "superpixel" to both reduce noise and improve light on pictures. 108MP cameras on phones like the S21 Ultra also take a similar approach but producing superpixels with 9 pixels instead of 4 to produce a 12MP image. Seeing Apple use this technology should translate into even better camera quality. While it was not clear if the non-Pro models would get a 48MP camera as well, all 4 models will apparently be able of 8K recording.

The other relevant bit of news is that Apple is axing the smaller 5.4-inch size. Their 2022 lineup will reportedly be comprised of 4 phones: two 6.1-inch models and two 6.7-inch models. While reviewers praised the iPhone 12 mini for its tiny size and beefy internals, this praise hasn't translated into sales. The production of that phone has been reduced to prioritize the bigger models that have been selling better. We're reportedly still getting an iPhone 13 mini this year, though, but you shouldn't have your hopes high for another one in 2022.