iPhone 17 Pro Series Telephoto Upgrade: Can a 48MP Periscope Lens Challenge Chinese Ultra Flagships?

iPhone 17 Pro Series Telephoto Upgrade: Can a 48MP Periscope Lens Challenge Chinese Ultra Flagships?Following the iPhone 16 Pro series' upgrade to a 48MP ultrawide lens, Apple appears to be focusing on enhancing its telephoto capabilities. According to a post by majinbuofficial, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature a redesigned telephoto lens module with an upgraded 48MP sensor, aiming to reduce the imaging disparity between the telephoto and wide-angle lenses

iPhone 17 Pro Series Telephoto Upgrade: Can a 48MP Periscope Lens Challenge Chinese Ultra Flagships?

Following the iPhone 16 Pro series' upgrade to a 48MP ultrawide lens, Apple appears to be focusing on enhancing its telephoto capabilities. According to a post by majinbuofficial, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature a redesigned telephoto lens module with an upgraded 48MP sensor, aiming to reduce the imaging disparity between the telephoto and wide-angle lenses. Recent iPhone imaging hardware upgrades have primarily centered on the main camera, with sensor specifications now comparable to Chinese Ultra-class flagships. However, improvements to the ultrawide and telephoto lenses have lagged, resulting in a noticeable gap in multi-camera performance. After this comprehensive periscope telephoto upgrade, will the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max imaging system be able to compete head-to-head with Chinese Ultra flagships?

High Pixel Count and Lossless Zoom: A Detailed Look at the iPhone 17 Pro Telephoto Lens Upgrade

majinbuofficial's post mentions a redesigned camera module, transitioning from the previous top-left protrusion to a continuous bump spanning the width of the device. This new design has garnered mixed reactions, but the larger bump undoubtedly provides more space for internal component stacking, including a larger camera module.

Apple has abandoned the multi-reflection periscope approach used in the previous two generations. Structurally, this suggests a significant improvement in the theoretical performance of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max's telephoto lens, particularly in low-light conditions like night photography. However, the new periscope structure may not be standard across all iPhone 17 Pro models. Based on past iterations, the higher-end, larger iPhone 17 Pro Max might adopt the new periscope design first, with the smaller Pro model potentially receiving it later.

The telephoto lens in the iPhone 17 Pro series will be upgraded to 48MP, supporting 3.5x optical zoom and up to 7x ("optical-quality") zoom at 160mm. It might also support features like telephoto macro photography. The higher pixel count translates to greater "lossless" cropping potential. While majinbuofficial's post doesn't mention an increase in sensor size, it's speculated to be around 1/2.55 inches, matching the iPhone 16 Pro series' ultrawide lens.

If accurate, this indicates Apple is finally prioritizing telephoto lens development. Telephoto capabilities and focal length coverage are crucial battlegrounds for flagship imaging, with usage scenarios far more complex than those of wide-angle lenses. Chinese Ultra flagships have heavily invested in their telephoto lenses, and Apple likely wants to avoid falling behind in this competition.

Abandoning the Ultra-Thin Periscope Module: Can Apple Create the Best Telephoto Lens?

Apple first introduced a periscope telephoto module in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but its structure differed from typical periscope designs. To address the space constraints of periscope lenses, Apple employed a unique solution. Official documentation and patent drawings show that Apple moved the lens group typically positioned behind the prism to the top of the prism, keeping the prism's wedge angle below 35 to reduce the thickness of the reflective structure. Light undergoes four reflections within the prism, compressing the periscope's lateral length while maintaining sufficient focal length.

Early multi-reflection periscope structures, like those in the Huawei P40 Pro+, aimed to achieve longer focal lengths within limited space. Today, multi-reflections are more about controlling thickness. The need for thinner modules has led other manufacturers, not just Apple, to employ multiple light refractions. The OPPO Find X8 series, released on October 24, 2024, features an inverted sensor periscope design that reduces space occupancy by 33% compared to traditional designs. The upcoming OPPO Find X8 Ultra's 6x periscope lens also uses an inverted sensor, significantly shortening its lateral length while accommodating a larger sensor. OPPO states that both sensor size and aperture have been improved by 2.5 times compared to the previous generation.

However, structural innovation comes at a cost. Multiple light refractions can lead to information loss and introduce errors, potentially affecting color reproduction. Furthermore, these ultra-thin periscope designs typically struggle with close-focus capabilities.

Traditional periscope structures have clear advantages and drawbacks: simple and mature structure, less light loss, closer focusing distance; however, they occupy more space. Currently, domestic Ultra flagship imaging systems mostly use traditional periscope structures.

majinbuofficial's mention of "optimized light paths" might suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max's periscope telephoto lens will revert to a traditional single-reflection structure, with the changes to the lens module providing more space for the periscope. Regardless of whether ultra-thin or traditional structures are used, both have their pros and cons, ultimately representing a compromise between the device's internal design and user experience. For an iPhone with only three cameras, sacrificing some space for better imaging/focusing capabilities is a more reasonable choice.

Prioritizing Multi-Camera Consistency: Apple Finally Focuses on Photography

Currently, there's a significant disparity in the hardware capabilities of the Pro-series iPhone's three cameras. The iPhone 16 Pro, for instance, features a 1/1.3-inch, 48MP IMX903 main sensor; an upgraded 48MP ultrawide lens with a 1/2.55-inch sensor; and a 12MP telephoto lens with a 1/3.1-inch sensor. The adage "a larger sensor wins" holds true; sensor size largely determines light sensitivity and dynamic range. Smaller sensors face more limitations in photography.

Multi-camera consistency doesn't just refer to color; it's about each camera achieving similar resolution and dynamic range in the same scene. This determines the multi-camera system's adaptability and influences user engagement.

Early periscope telephoto lenses were primarily used for long-distance shooting, but now, long-range night photography is a key area of competition. The telephoto lens's hardware configuration is crucial, requiring both a large sensor and high-quality optics. Otherwise, in low light, the camera system might switch to the main sensor and crop. The iPhone 16 Pro series relies on main-sensor cropping for 1-5x zoom, and digital zoom inevitably results in some image quality loss. To ensure good image quality within 10x zoom, Chinese flagship telephoto lenses typically have a native focal length of around 3-4x. The shift in the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max's telephoto approach also considers everyday shooting scenarios.

Apple has consistently led in video, but its photographic strengths are relatively limited. The telephoto upgrade is welcome, showing Apple is prioritizing multi-camera consistency, particularly sharpness. Currently, flagship imaging competition centers on telephoto performance both long-range capture and excellent image quality.

Going Head-to-Head with Chinese Ultra Flagships: Can the iPhone 17 Succeed?

The Chinese smartphone market is fiercely competitive, with professional and self-developed imaging brands emerging, and their Ultra flagship hardware is impressive. In photography, Chinese Ultra flagships are already in a "battle of the gods." In comparison, the iPhone's advantage in direct image output is less pronounced. However, the iPhone's camera system offers good post-processing potential and features like the "color palette," allowing users to simulate different camera tones and film colors in post-processing.

Imaging capabilities are a top concern for flagship phone users. A report by Kantar and Zhihu, "China High-End Smartphone User White Paper," shows that imaging technology and AI intelligence are key drivers for high-end smartphone upgrades. 72% of high-end users focus on telephoto capabilities because they meet the needs of various scenarios (concerts, portraits, close-ups), making it a top imaging priority.

Apple likely realizes that strong imaging is essential to maintaining its dominance in the high-end market. The iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max's telephoto focus aligns with market demand. With improved hardware, the iPhone's imaging capabilities will be significantly better. Whether it can directly compete with Chinese Ultra flagships remains to be seen, but Apple has taken a serious step toward improving its imaging capabilities, and the future is promising. Future iPhone users will likely no longer be disappointed by its photographic performance.