Apple’s ‘Tetraprism’ Zoom Lens Technology May Be Featured on iPhone 16 Pro
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro could feature a new camera lens system with the same “tetraprism” telephoto lens technology as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
For those who are not familiar, this year Apple released the iPhone 15 Pro series with different camera systems. Specifically, the smaller iPhone 15 Pro (6.1-inch model) lacks the 5X 120mm zoom lens found on the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max, but notably features the same 48-megapixel main sensors and 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensors.
So with the iPhone 16 Pro series – according to Ming-Chi Kuo – Apple could close this gap and offer the same tetraprism lens with a smaller phone as well.
In the past, Apple has made similar moves, such as with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which offers a larger 12-megapixel camera sensor with sensor shift optical stabilization compared to the iPhone 12 Pro’s smaller 12-megapixel sensor. However, later, when the iPhone 13 Pro models were released, Apple started to offer the same technology everywhere. That’s why something similar can happen this time as well.
“Both iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro are expected to have tetraprism telephoto cameras. If Apple keeps the higher specifications for the lens, it will raise the barrier of entry for Genius, Apple’s second largest lens supplier, next year,” Ming-Chi Kuo said.
For the past couple of years, Apple has offered the same camera system with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro series. So it was somewhat surprising that Apple decided to retrace its steps and decided to create a difference between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max camera systems.
