Rumors are Already Flying About the iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera
News | By Stephan Jukic | July 21, 2023
The iPhone 15 isn’t even on the market quite yet, but rumors about an iPhone 16 with a super zoom are already floating around.
The iPhone 14 and its versions are well-established among consumers but we’re still well away from seeing an iPhone 16 release, since, obviously the iPhone 15 has to emerge first. Nonetheless, a few things about the 16 are already being rumored or leaked.
Each new iPhone that emerges tends to come with notable new upgrades or even entirely new features. We’re firmly expecting to see these with the iPhone 15 in late 2023 (it’s rumored for a September release), but rumors about the iPhone 16?
Those should be taken with more than a grain of salt, but they’re interesting to read about, especially if they involve major camera upgrades.
Basically, it’s rumored that the 2024 edition of the iPhone Pro Max might include a super telephoto periscope zoom camera.
Worth noting here is that the periscope lens is something for which Apple already has a patent, as was covered all the way back in 2021 and 2022.
Also worth noting is that this same lens was rumored for Apple’s iPhone 14 editions before they came out, but obviously, that wasn’t so.
According to claims by the site GSM Arena, this will take the zoom from the current 77mm (3x optical and 15x digital) zoom of the iPhone 14 Pro Max all the way to 300mm.
For perspective, some of today’s best zoom photo cameras belong to the Google Pixel 7 Pro, with its 5x optical zoom/30x digital zoom, and Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 100x digital zoom.
More crucial will be the question of picture quality if these zoom rumors are true. Anyone who tries to take high-quality photos with their phone knows that using its zoom can often spoil their resolution.
Again, all of this is completely speculative at this point, but these camera rumors are coming from a leaker out of China called Digital Chat Station, who is usually fairly reliable according to GSM Arena.
If the iPhone 16 Pro Max really does come with a 300mm lens, even if it’s just a periscope version instead of a “Super Telephoto” version, this might end up being an advanced version of what the iPhone 15 Pro Max is rumored to include.
Supposedly, the upcoming 2023 iPhone Pro Max will indeed have a periscope too. If true, this actually lends credibility to the idea of the 2024 edition including the same.
The same source for the 300mm periscope camera in the iPhone 16 Pro Max also claims that it will have a sensor that’s 12% larger than that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Current (and more reliable) rumors about the iPhone 15 Pro Max indicate that its sensor won’t be larger. However, all versions of it will feature a 48MP sensor. The iPhone 14 standard edition only offers 12 megapixels for comparison.
In any case, we’ll know more about the iPhone 15 editions in just a couple of months, and when we do, it should paint a clearer picture of what the iPhone 16 editions might come with.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
