Apple is said to be readying a periscope zoom camera upgrade for its smartphones, but it will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, at least in 2023.
Apple will finally put a periscope-style telephoto zoom camera on its smartphones, but according to a reliable market analyst, the perk will initially be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max model set to arrive next year. While that might sound like an odd choice, this won’t be the first time that Apple is reserving the best tech for the top-of-the-line Pro Max trim. Take for example the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which came armed with a wide-angle camera that had a 47 percent larger image sensor behind it, compared to the one fitted inside the regular iPhone 12 Pro.
Moreover, the lens used for the telephoto camera on the iPhone 12 Pro Max offered a narrower f/2.2 aperture compared to the f/2.0 unit on the iPhone 12 Pro, but the former took the optical and digital zoom range to 5x and 12x, respectively. The iPhone 12 Pro, on the other hand, could only deliver a 4x optical and 10x digital zoom range. Additionally, the sensor-shift optical stabilization tech was initially limited to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, before it became a standard for the entire iPhone 13 quartet.
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It looks like the pricier iPhone 15 Pro Max will lead the charge for exclusive innovation into 2023 as well. According to a Medium post by TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a periscope zoom camera will first make its way to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and will then be fitted on both the iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024. Camera resolution for the folded lens zooms system will remain locked at 12-megapixels, with an f/2.8 lens for collecting light and a 1/3-inch sensor crunching all the pixel data. As for the zoom range, it will go up to 5x or 6x, up from the 3x zoom-in range currently available on Apple’s smartphones.
What’s The Big Deal About Periscope Zoom?
Unlike a regular telephoto camera setup on a phone that relies on moving lens elements to adjust the zoom level, the periscope system puts a prism into the equation. So, instead of light directly passing through the lens and falling straight on the sensor behind it, a folded lens aka a periscope system collects light from the lens and passes it through a prism that bends it at a 90-degree angle. The camera sensor, in this setup, is positioned at a 90-degree angle to the lens and much deeper into the chassis. The key benefit here is that the tunnel between the prism and the camera sensor is longer, which allows the lens elements more space for adjustments in order to produce a wider zoom range.
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While the Huawei P30 Pro first popularized the tech all the way back in 2019, it has now become a staple on Android flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Compared to the 3x optical zoom range delivered by the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s regular telephoto system, the periscope hardware on the Samsung flagship offers a much higher 10x optical zoom-in experience, 30x hybrid zoom, and 100x digital zoom. With the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it looks like Apple could finally level the playing field.
