Apple’s next-generation iPhone 15 Pro Max (or “iPhone 15 Ultra”) is widely expected to sport a “periscope lens” that would allow for up to 6x optical zoom.
In July 2022, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a periscope lens would be exclusive to the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max and enable 5-6x optical zoom. Periscope technology would be built into the Telephoto lens and allow for up to 6x zoom when shooting photos with the rear camera, without any blurriness or reduction in image quality.
With a periscope lens, light absorbed by the image sensor is bent or “folded,” allowing for a greater distance between the camera elements within the compact design of a smartphone.
5-6x optical zoom would be a significant camera upgrade for the iPhone. Following the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Kuo said the periscope lens would remain limited to the iPhone 16 Pro Max next year, meaning that the technology would only be available on the most expensive iPhone model for at least the next two generations of devices.
MacDailyNews Take: More differentiation for the flagship iPhone is smart. It will increase iPhone ASP as it tempts would-be iPhone Pro buyers to move up to the iPhone Pro Max (or “Ultra”) model.
Currently both iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max offer 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range; and digital zoom up to 15x.
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
That sucks. Samsung has been offering 10x periscope for a while now. Why go to a periscope model and then not give us the full 10x capabilities. Apple doing less and less yet burning more and more money doing it.
Better late than never, but, yeah, lackluster capability.