iPhone 16 Pro Again Rumored to Include Tetraprism Telephoto Lens With 5X Optical Zoom

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will include Apple's tetraprism Telephoto lens with improved zoom capabilities, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated today.

iPhone 16 Cameras Feature 1
Apple introduced a new tetraprism lens system for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, enabling 5x optical zoom for the first time. The camera technology was not added to the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, marking one of the first times that Apple has added camera technology to one Pro device and not the other.

The limitation was rumored to be because of space constraints, with only the Pro Max able to accommodate the hardware, but yield may have also been a factor. According to Kuo, when lens supplier Largan was producing the tetraprism hardware for the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max in the third quarter of 2023, production yield was at just 40 percent. Yield has now improved to 70 percent or more.

Apple is planning to increase the size of the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ to 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches, which will allow for more space for camera hardware. With the size increase and the yield improvement, Apple has addressed the factors that likely kept the tetraprism lens limited to the larger Pro Max iPhone.

It is not yet clear if Apple has plans to make improvements to the tetraprism lens in 2024. One rumor has suggested Apple is working on a "super telephoto camera" with a much longer focal length, but we've heard little about it at this point.

Related Roundups: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro
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Top Rated Comments

magicchina Avatar
22 months ago

marking one of the first times that Apple has added camera technology to one Pro device and not the other.
Not exactly, iPhone 12 Pro's main camera only got 1.4µm pixel size+OIS, while iPhone 12 Pro max's got 1.7µm pixel size+IBIS.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
traveltoromantis Avatar
22 months ago

Not exactly, iPhone 12 Pro's main camera only got 1.4µm pixel size+OIS, while iPhone 12 Pro max's got 1.7µm pixel size+IBIS.
This, and the 6s+ had optical image stabilization while the 6s didn't. Perhaps better wording would have been "one of the few times". I suppose they did specify pro devices, but it's still confusing wording imo.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nfortna Avatar
22 months ago

might as well wait on the pentaprism lens in the 17, or maybe we will have dodecaprism in the XX.
"Now featuring the most prisms EVER in an iPhone"
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
22 months ago

Basically, Apple's way of saying "periscope lens."
Nope. It’s a totally different type of mechanism. I was fully expecting a periscope lens mechanism as well. The prism doesn’t have the moving components that a periscope lens does, it’s an entirely different approach than a periscope lens assembly.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wikiverse Avatar
22 months ago
Honestly, I'm glad I didn't get the 15PM and got the pro instead. The 3x is long enough and 5x would be too long for most uses. Plus, for video 3x is already hard to keep stable, and 5x is just going to be a shaky mess.

They should just bite the bullet and go full Samsung Galaxy Camera style with a proper telescoping zoom lens on the back of the camera. Just make a version that is a camera that also happens to be a phone.

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Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
22 months ago
and water is wet? wow what an amazing prediction
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)