Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I won’t debate the strategy, Apple surely knows best. But that means I’m not updating until then. Nowadays smartphone are ridiculously powerful and I don’t care about spec bumps. I want best photo quality and best screen quality in the smallest possible format. So that’s cool, I just saved 1200€ that I won’t be spending in September and until this feature makes its way to the regular Pro. 😄
 
unless this is purely size thing (ie. cant fit the damn thing into smaller phone), this is absolute BS
i want the best camera possible in portable format - max is too large
I’d think this is more likely to be a size issue than some past Max-size exclusives. The article explains periscope lens “tech” rather poorly, but it just means sticking a mirror in the beam path so the optical path can be laid out parallel to the phone body instead of perpendicular to it; this reduces the thickness required, but demands quite a bit of space in the chassis. Personally I’d trade half a day’s worth of battery life for that, but there’s always some whiner who’s too lazy to charge a phone more than three times a week, so we end up stuck with Samsung-sized bricks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the future
I would prefer the Pro Max Ultra. Sounds way cooler. And big enough to stuff in a periscope lens that's apparently too large for its smaller siblings. Not sure how the other companies do it?
How about Pro Max Ultra XR?
 
The current system of three or four prime lenses that covers the same focal range is far, far superior to one zoom lense. Primes are faster, smaller and sharper. It'll need to be 20-50x zoom to move the needle for me.

Current phone cameras are borderline usable to me.😕 I find them imminently convenient when scouting a location for a shoot, but I would use my SLR for the actual shoot itself.

Periscope lenses are primes though, they just use folded optics (mirrors) to achieve the high focal length.

But I hear ya, everytime I hear someone say cell phones are almost as or as good as a dslr or a slr it makes me cringe. No cell phone camera comes close to the dynamic range, detail, colors, and depth of field you get from a dedicated camera. But I still want them to keep improving the cell phones, and the iPhone is way behind in the longer focal ranges.

I once got to use a D850 with a 200 f2, no cell phone is touching what that beast can do for like 2,000 years.😳
 
No brainer since the periscope module is huge. We've all seen the teardowns. It would be like adding another lens to the iPhone.

The 6.1-inch models simply don't have the internal space.
 
Pro Max is my next phone. Just not sure if I want the 15 or wait for the 16. I have the 12 Pro right now and want a bigger display. I wish they would make an even more expensive phone than the Pro Max.
 
KUO please tell us about the 2030 iphone...this is ridiculous
I would so love to have a "scoreboard", if you will, of predictions that Kuo made and have each prediction be scored for accuracy -- like did his predictions pan out?
 
I would so love to have a "scoreboard", if you will, of predictions that Kuo made and have each prediction be scored for accuracy -- like did his predictions pan out?

The vast majority of his predictions are accurate, simply because it's based on supply chain.

For instance, he was the first to predict satellite connectivity on iPhone and the return of HDMI/SD on MacBook Pro. First to tell the world iPhone X would delete Touch ID.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chidoro
Gotta love how we are making predictions on features exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro Max that are not yet even released in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Why this rumor matters when it is 20 months away eludes me.
I completely missed that detail.

16????!!!!! What about 15 rumors? Another 13ss? Ha
 
I’d think this is more likely to be a size issue than some past Max-size exclusives. The article explains periscope lens “tech” rather poorly, but it just means sticking a mirror in the beam path so the optical path can be laid out parallel to the phone body instead of perpendicular to it; this reduces the thickness required, but demands quite a bit of space in the chassis. Personally I’d trade half a day’s worth of battery life for that, but there’s always some whiner who’s too lazy to charge a phone more than three times a week, so we end up stuck with Samsung-sized bricks.

You know, that would be really interesting: if Apple released two „regular“ 15 Pro models at the same time, one with all the tech from the Max but (much) less battery life, the other without the new zoom but normal (i.e. great) battery life. I wonder which one would sell better … It will never happen, of course, but it would teach the ever-whining part of the tech enthusiast public a much-needed lesson about inevitable design/engineering trade-offs.

I would so love to have a "scoreboard", if you will, of predictions that Kuo made and have each prediction be scored for accuracy -- like did his predictions pan out?

 
Such a disgusting move by Apple! This fragmentation for every single thing is just a testament to their never ending obsesion to extract even more money. These huge and ultra rich companies are no good. All should be taken down.
Starting from Google and Apple. How many different iPhone models per year we have? What's their cost to make and how much they earn per phone? How much money in the banks they have? When is it enough?! Devils.
If people were smrt enough, which they aren't to boycott these money driven decisions.
Would you accept worse battery life because they put a much larger camera module in a smaller phone?
 
6x only… when would we get 100x? 2125?
I would rather get a xiaomi as a second phone for photos
 


The 2024 iPhone 16 Pro Max (or Ultra should Apple change the iPhone naming scheme) will continue to be the only iPhone model that will get a higher-end, upgraded periscope camera with new zoom capabilities next year, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iPhone-14-Pro-Rear-Camera.jpg

As has been previously rumored several times, Apple this year will limit periscope lens technology to the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max, perhaps because of the space that the hardware requires. Keeping the periscope lens exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well will see Apple breaking a tradition that often sees new features introduced as exclusives for one iPhone and then later expanded to additional iPhone models when next-generation devices release.


Kuo's information contradicts a recent report from The Elec, which said that a "Folded Zoom" periscope lens would be available in both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max next year.

With a periscope lens, light is reflected by an angled mirror toward the image sensor in the camera. The directional shift allows for a "folded" telephoto lens system for improved optical zoom capabilities without the blurriness that comes with digital zoom.

Periscope lens technology is already used by Apple's competitors like Samsung, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max could feature up to 6x optical zoom, an improvement over the current 3x optical zoom in the iPhone 14 Pro models.

For the last few years, the Pro and Pro Max iPhones have offered similar features, and battery life has been the main distinguishing feature between the devices aside from display size. Limiting periscope zoom technology to the Pro Max will likely frustrate those who like to have the latest technology but who do not care for the larger 6.7-inch size.

As Apple is adding more features to the larger 6.7-inch iPhone 15 "Pro Max," there are rumors that it could instead be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, similar to the Apple Watch Ultra.

Article Link: Kuo: Periscope Camera Lens Will Remain Limited to iPhone 16 Pro Max Model in 2024
Does periscope lenses mean there will no longer be a camera bump, like I hope it does?
 
Not interested in buying any iPhoneMax even if it could make dinner and had really smart Siri. It’s way too big for me. I’ll stick to Pro in smaller size.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.