iPhone 15 Pro Max with periscopic telephoto lens

On 16 March, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max model will feature a periscopic telephoto lens.

Compared to the current 12MP 3x telephoto lens on the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is capable of 6x optical zoom, making it the first model in Apple's history to feature a periscopic telephoto lens.

The principle of the periscopic telephoto lens is borrowed from the periscope, which uses two reflectors to create a refraction in the light path, and two mirrors to cause the light to be reflected twice and finally bend towards the light sensor.

Specifically, the telephoto periscope changes the line of light propagation, allowing the light path to fold through the mirrors and then into the camera's sensor. In this way, the phone's camera sensor does not need to be at the same level as the lens, allowing the phone's zooming needs to be met and also preventing the phone's lens from bulging out too much.

The current oversized cup flagships in the Android camp usually come with a periscopic telephoto lens, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Vivo X90 Pro+ and many more.

Here at Apple, the periscopic telephoto lens will be a selling point exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 are the three models that do not have this configuration.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max will also feature a titanium mid-frame with an A17 Bionic chip and an improved LiDAR scanner.