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.
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.
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