IPhone 5s Camera, Bigger Megapixels Better?

I just saw the keynote for the new iPhone 5s and they said that the camera is better than the previous generation. But the thing that confused me was that he said that there was bigger pixels. Less pixels. The other day I saw a commercial for a Nokia with like 42 mega pixels and that their pictures were better. So I'm confused whether more is better or less is better, so can an expert please help me with this question?

More pixels isn't better. "Bigger" pixels are better. The new iPhone 5s has a slightly larger sensor and less pixels. It stands to reason that each individual pixel is larger.

Think if each pixel as a little bucket that collects light. The more light the better the picture. If the pixel is too small, the image can't be optimized. So larger buckets allow for larger collections of light. A similar thing happened with the canon G series. The G9 had about 16 mega pixels. The. The G 10 or 11 had only 10 megapixels. The camera was a huge hit and was applauded for jumping out of the mega pixel wars.

The thing is that more mega pixels does not make a better image. It makes a bigger image. But if all your images are seen on a phone or computer screen, all you need are 5 megapixels at best. IPhone choose 8 to give you a little extra breathing room for cropping and other things.

The Nokia phone is just pandering to the masses and perpetuating the misconception that better

The cameras in 'smartphones; are improving…

… If you are serious about quality images though, (images of publishing quality) and not just 'snaps' for the family album then you really should at the very least be considering a 'dedicated' compact camera…

… The size of the 'sensor' in a camera is more important than the amount of megapixels… 'smartphone' manufacturers deliberately market their products by boasting about the amount of megapixels because they know it impresses 'children' or people who don't really understand photography.

42 is ridiculous, I don't even want it that big as it makes your images huge to email or text, etc. A few years ago it was more important, now it doesn't matter as the human eye can't really tell a difference between on that has more or the other.