Rumor: Only iPhone 15 Pro Max will get a periscopic zoom camera

Only the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a periscopic zoom camera, says TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Other variants of next year’s iPhone will not have the zoom. The iPhone 16 Pro would have the periscopic lens after that, says Kuo.

Oppo: periscopic camera

According to Kuo, the periscopic zoom should provide a magnification of 5x-6x over the primary camera. That comes out at around a focal length of around 130mm in 35mm equivalent. That’s a relatively limited magnification compared to cameras in other high-end phones. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 230mm lens. It also has a second camera with a telephoto lens with less magnification.

Kuo says the camera will have a sensor size of around 1/3″, which results in an area of ​​around 13 square millimeters. The aperture would come out at f/2.8, while the camera would support optical image stabilization with sensor shift.

The analyst indicates that the periscopic lens will replace the currently used telephoto lens. Some other manufacturers opt for dual cameras with telephoto lenses in high-end phones. A periscopic zoom lens has a sensor that is rotated a quarter turn in the housing. The light enters through the lens, after which a mirror bends the light a quarter turn to make it end up on the sensor. This technique makes longer focal lengths possible, because there is more space in the width of a phone than in the thickness. There have been rumors about a periscopic zoom for future iPhones for some time, but this is the first time that Kuo has mentioned specifications.