The latest news said that Apple will adjust the layout of the rear camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to accommodate the unique periscope zoom lens of the machine.
Note: The picture shows the camera layout of the iPhone 14 Pro, and the arrow indicates the lens swapped on the iPhone 15 Pro Max
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this year, the telephoto camera of the iPhone 15 Pro Max will use a periscope lens system for the first time to achieve 5x or 6x optical zoom. In comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max only offers 3x optical zoom.
Only the iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature this lens, as the hardware takes up more internal space, but even in the Pro Max model, Apple has had to rearrange the layout of the rear camera module out of necessity.
When the current iPhone 14 Pro Max is held in landscape mode (pictured above), the side buttons are at the top, the telephoto lens is closest to the top corner of the device, and the ultra-wide-angle lens is located between the flash and the LiDAR sensor. According to Unknownz21, in contrast, on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the ultra-wide-angle lens will be moved to a corner position in the module, while the telephoto lens will be placed between the flash and the lidar, which will provide Apple with more The internal space to accommodate the complex folded optics in the zoom system.
Zoom lens systems typically use one primary lens to take the picture, then a tilted mirror or prism bounces the light 90 degrees to a second lens, which then sends it to the image sensor. The image sensor and second lens are placed sideways inside the smartphone to extend the focal length, taking up quite a bit of space. Since light bounces off at an angle in such a system, the actual telephoto lens would likely need to be square, unlike the circular telephoto lens used in the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Of course, the camera cutout is still circular, but the lens inside is square. In this sense, compared with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the next-generation model will look unchanged from the outside, but the internal hardware layout will be significantly different.
Unknownz21 also said that next year’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will both be equipped with this telephoto lens technology, which is also consistent with Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s earlier statement.
