Tetraprism Telephoto Lens to be Available on Both iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max

Recently, MacRumors has received information indicating that Apple intends to implement the tetraprism telephoto lens on both iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max in 2024.

iPhone 16 Pro Mock Header Updated

Our findings align with claims made by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo back in September, which were recently reiterated. The Elec also published a report earlier this month which makes the same claim about tetraprism availability, albeit with more details.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a tetraprism telephoto camera. The folded glass structure within it uses a tetraprism design which repeatedly reflects light, allowing for up to 5x optical zoom, up from 3x on the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max.

This year, the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro was released without the new-and-improved tetraprism telephoto camera, likely due to spatial constraints. The components necessary for the tetraprism camera occupy significantly more space than the telephoto camera currently found on the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro, and consequently would not fit in the smaller 6.1” device.

With the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro, Apple intends to increase the overall size of the devices, with the displays of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max measuring roughly 6.3" and 6.9", respectively. The increased device sizes would provide ample room for the new tetraprism telephoto camera, and internal documentation seen by MacRumors corroborates this change.

Internal documentation detailing the camera module design for the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro reveals that the module bears significant resemblance to the module used in the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max. At a glance, the area containing the tetraprism components can be easily identified.

It is important to consider that the information provided here constitutes pre-production information and may not reflect the hardware found on final mass production units. The ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro is still many months away and changes are always possible.

For more details on what to expect, check out our rumor roundup page for the iPhone 16 Pro.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...

Top Rated Comments

McWetty Avatar
23 months ago
Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
23 months ago

Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Here it is.



It’s so mini you can wear it on your wrist.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
23 months ago
Can I pre-order yet? Want best camera, but can't deal with a Max. Skipped this year.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
23 months ago
I’m glad that Apple might be making the new tetraprism telephoto lens available on both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead of what Apple did this year in only making the better camera available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max

I much prefer the smaller sized screen over the max version so I’m glad that there’s a possibility that the only differentiating factor in the iPhone 16 Pro model phones will be the screen size and not the camera features
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
23 months ago
I hope this pans out. I've had a large iPhone since the iPhone 6 Plus and I'm kind of done with large iPhones. As a photographer, I do want a proper telephoto so being able to choose the smaller iPhone is going to be great.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
23 months ago

I am not keeping my hope up on these lenses offering better image quality than this years iPhone, especially if 90% of the final photo is the result of heavy post-processing.
I would say 90% of what makes a compelling photograph comes from the photographer and his/her ability to see, compose, evaluate the quality of light, recognize gesture, the potential of releasing narrative in a viewer's mind, and on and on.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)