Apple's telephoto camera could be the last rear camera to be upgraded to a 48-megapixel sensor when the iPhone 17 Pro models arrive later this year.
iPhone 15 Pro Max (left) and iPhone 16 Pro Max are equipped with a 5x Tetraprism telephoto lens
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could arrive with two camera upgrades, according to details shared by a tipster on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform. The company's successors to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are not expected to arrive until later this year, but details of the handsets have already been leaked over the past few months. This year, Apple is expected to introduce a redesigned rear camera island for the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a horizontal camera layout.
Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) writes in a post on Weibo that Apple will equip the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max with a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, which is an upgraded version of the 12-megapixel camera on the iPhone 16 Pro models.
Photo Credit: Weibo/ Digital Chat Station
The iPhone 17 Pro models will also be equipped with a 24-megapixel selfie camera, according to the tipster. It's worth noting that both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models feature a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera.
This is not the first time that information about Apple's upgraded iPhone 17 Pro camera specifications have leaked online. In January 2024, TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the iPhone 17 models would be equipped with a new 24-megapixel selfie camera.
Last November, a report suggested that Apple plans to keep its Tetraprism telephoto lens, which enables support for 5x optical zoom, exclusive to its Pro models. Previous reports had indicated that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air would be the first non-flagship models equipped with a telephoto camera.
Previous leaks have also hinted at the arrival of other upgrades on the iPhone 17 Pro models, including an under-display Face ID technology that could result in a smaller camera cutout. The iPhone 17 models might be equipped with Apple's A19 chip, along with 8GB of RAM, while the Pro models could feature an A19 Pro chips paired with 12GB of RAM.
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