The Periscope lens would be exclusive to the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max and enable 5-6x optical zoom.
The US-based tech giant Apple is expected to announce its iPhone 15 lineup in September 2023. Ahead of the official announcement, a new report revealed that the higher-end variant — Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max may come with an impressive 5-6x optical zoom.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Ku, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a “periscope lens,” a technology that is currently exclusive to high-end smartphones like Samsung, Google, and Huawei, MacRumors reported.
The Periscope lens would be exclusive to the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max and enable 5-6x optical zoom. The periscope lens is expected to be integrated into the Telephoto lens of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, allowing for up to 6x zoom when capturing photos with the rear camera.
One of the advantages of periscope technology is that it allows for a greater distance between the camera elements within the compact design of a smartphone, resulting in increased optical zoom without compromising image quality or sharpness.
The rumored 5-6x optical zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro Max would be a significant upgrade from the current maximum of 3x optical zoom available on iPhones. However, Kuo also mentioned that the periscope lens may be limited to the iPhone 16 Pro Max next year, meaning that it could only be available on the most expensive iPhone model for at least the next two generations of devices.
Recently, Ming-Chi Kuo also claimed that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will no longer feature solid-state buttons. Kuo had previously stated that the devices would be equipped with solid-state buttons, which offer haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of pressing a button. However, in a Medium post, he confirmed that the phones will have physical buttons instead.
Also, iPhone 15 Pro models will feature a titanium frame with a rounder-edged design, new buttons, a giant camera bump, and more. According to GSMArena, the size of the individual camera protrusions will increase once again, and the entire hump will thicken.