iPhone 16 Pro to get same 5x zoom camera as Pro Max, bigger upgrades next year

The tetraprism camera available in the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to 5x optical zoom for the telephoto lens. The smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro did not get this upgrade, retaining its 3x zoom.

However, both the upcoming 2024 iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the same 5x telephoto lens. Ming-Chi Kuo says this camera will have identical specifications as what debuted in the 15 Pro Max. The analyst indicates more significant upgrades are coming in future years …

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are expected to launch in September 2024, in just a few months time. Thanks to the inclusion of the 5x camera in both pro sizes, Kuo estimates component shipments to increase about 160%.

What is more exciting is what customers can expect for future years. Kuo says that the high-end iPhone 17 model, due in late 2025, will get a tetraprism camera with 48-megapixel sensor. The sensor size will also increase to 1/2.6″, likely improving image quality and low-light sensitivity. However, Kuo isn’t sure yet whether the upgraded tetraprism camera will come to the 17 Pro Max only, or if it will be included on both sizes.

Looking further out to 2027, the ‘iPhone 19’ is on track to receive another significant upgrade to the telephoto camera. Kuo believes this upgrade will include an increase to the optical range, potentially involving more prisms to increase the length of the light path, and thereby enabling greater than 5x optical zoom. Naturally, it would no longer be described as a tetraprism design, as it would have more than five internal reflectors.