iPhone 17 and 'iPhone 17 Air' Expected to Lack 5x Optical Zoom Lens

Friday November 22, 2024 11:04 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Next year's iPhone 17 and all-new "iPhone 17 Air" will not have a 5x optical zoom lens, according to Korean publication The Elec (via 9to5Mac).

iPhone 17 Slim Feature
The report said the tetraprism camera system that enables 5x optical zoom will remain exclusive to the Pro models in next year's iPhone lineup, meaning that it would only be available on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Of course, with the iPhone 17 Air expected to be very thin, this is no surprise.

In the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, the tetraprism camera system has a "folded" design that allows it to fit inside the smartphones, enabling up to 5x optical zoom and up to 25x digital zoom on those devices. The smaller iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are limited to up to 3x optical zoom.

The standard iPhone 16 offers up to 2x optical-quality zoom, so the iPhone 17 should too at a minimum. However, zoom specifications for the iPhone 17 Air are still unclear, as the device is rumored to feature only a single 48-megapixel rear camera.

iPhone 17 Air rumors have been a mixed bag so far. The device could become the thinnest iPhone ever, but some of its specifications will seemingly be lacking compared to the Pro models, which will make for a tough purchasing decision. In other words, if you want the cool new iPhone with the thin, new design, there will be tradeoffs.

There have been conflicting rumors about the iPhone 17 Air's design and specifications, but most sources have agreed that it will have around a 6.6-inch display. In July, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the device to have a standard A19 chip, a Dynamic Island, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G modem.

That means the iPhone 17 Air would have quite a large display, but the 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max would still be larger. With an A19 chip, the device would certainly be performant, but the iPhone 17 Pro models will get a superior A19 Pro chip. A single camera would put the device on the same tier as the iPhone SE for photography.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air could be one of the first devices with an Apple-designed 5G modem, but it is unclear if it will have any obvious consumer benefits over the Qualcomm modems that are expected to be used for iPhone 17 Pro models. Nevertheless, Apple's cellular future will debut in this device rather than the flagship Pro models.

It's still early, so we should learn a lot more about the iPhone 17 Air over the coming months.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone Air

Tag: The Elec

Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral), iPhone Air (Neutral)

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

mitchferrino

25 months ago

I’d pay literally anything for a pro iPhone without a GD camera bump.

I hate it so much. At the very least make it centered & rectangular so the phone doesn’t rattle back and forth when typing on it when it’s laying flat.

It feels like the most un-Apple design choice.

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sniffies

25 months ago

Makes sense. After all, it's Air, not Pro.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Supermallet

25 months ago

Have to assume that this product is Apple's new approach to spicing up the entry level models, which are largely unattractive. Because nothing else really makes sense. A new mix and match of features that enables an ultra portable iPhone, to appeal to the mass market.

The entry level models are attractive for people who want a great phone at a reasonable price. The Pro models are overkill for most people and unnecessary. Apple has been very good at trickling down the tech from the Pro models to the base models year over year. Of course some features remain exclusive to the Pro models because Apple wants people to feel the FOMO and spend more money, but really the base models are what most people should go for.

We're outliers, we're so interested in tech and in Apple in particular that we signed up to post on an Apple-centric message board. By default we do not represent the average Apple consumer.

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)