The iPhone 15 Pro Max launched by Apple has the largest camera upgrade compared to previously released products. This latest flagship features improved camera hardware and software optimizations, resulting in improved photo and video quality. iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 5x optical zoom function, which can jump to 25x with the help of digital zoom. Now, Apple plans to further improve the camera of the iPhone 16 Pro model, equipped with a four-prism telephoto lens.
The iPhone 16 Pro will be equipped with the same four-prism camera lens as the "Pro" model, thanks to the larger overall size and better periscope yield.
Well-known industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models will be equipped with the company’s four-prism telephoto lens. The new lens will give the two "Pro" models of iPhone 16 better zoom capabilities. It should be noted that the four-prism telephoto lens equipped with iPhone 15 Pro Max can achieve 5x optical zoom, but the smaller iPhone 15 Pro has canceled this feature.
This is the first time Apple has introduced major hardware changes in the camera only for the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, the two iPhone 16 Pro models will use the same camera lens. It was previously reported that Apple decided to install a prism on the iPhone 15 Pro Max due to space reasons. The smaller iPhone 15 Pro does not have enough space to equip a 5x zoom four-prism telephoto lens.
The iPhone 15 Pro is likely to use the telephoto sensor Apple debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Therefore, it can only achieve 3x optical zoom. However, lack of internal space may not be the only factor why the smaller iPhone 15 Pro abandons the four-prism telephoto lens. However, it is reported that the iPhone 16 Pro will have a slightly larger appearance than the iPhone 15 Pro, which may eliminate tight space allocation.
Previously, it was reported that Apple supplier Largan Optoelectronics’ component production yield rate in the third quarter of this year was only 40%. This may be a factor that led Apple to make the four-prism telephoto lens an exclusive configuration of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Production yields are now at 70%, which means next year's iPhone 16 Pro may feature the same four-prism telephoto lens as its larger "Max" model.
The iPhone 16 Pro is expected to feature a slightly larger 6.3-inch display, eliminating internal space constraints. Whether Apple will provide additional improvements to the four-prism lens of the iPhone 16 Pro model, there are few details at this stage, and we need to wait and see.