When the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max arrived, there was one big difference between the two models other than size and price — the camera with the telephoto lens. A new report says the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will return to the photographic uniformity of the previous models with the equivalent of 5x zoom on both models.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera System Will It Compete With iPhone 16 Pro?
Currently, if you want a stronger telephoto zoom, you need the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro has a 3x equivalent zoom compared to the main lens.
I asked Apple why this disparity occurred, and was told unequivocally that it was due to size: the smaller iPhone 15 Pro didn’t have enough volume for the larger zoom.
And since reports suggest the next Pro models will be slightly larger (the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to match the current sizes), there may be enough room for 5x zoom.
And it looks like Apple will take the opportunity to include it, according to a new report from a supplier in Digi Times“Largan supplied the Periscope lenses for the premium iPhone 15 Pro Max launched last year. This year, more models in the upcoming iPhone lineup will feature Periscope lenses. GSEO is likely to join as a new supplier for this year’s iPhones,” the report said.
This isn’t the first rumor on the matter, as a previous report by TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in October 2023 suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro would feature a quad prism — Apple’s name for its periscope lens, which is so cleverly designed that it looks almost identical to other lenses, unlike other periscope lenses. Only Apple would go to this level of aesthetic detail.
Swallows don’t make a summer, and rumors don’t equal facts, but they’re certainly going in the right direction.
It would make a lot of sense for Apple to include 5x zoom if it could: it’s a very effective feature and many iPhone 15 Pro users would have liked it, but objected to the way the Max stretches your pocket (physically and financially).
While the difference between the cameras on the Pro and Pro Max in the current generation isn’t the first time the larger iPhones have had better cameras, making the two identical in this regard is the better way to go, and I think Apple feels that way too.
