Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max tipped to feature Super Telephoto Camera

Apple is rumored to be working on offering a super telephoto periscope camera with the iPhone 16 Pro Max for increased optical zoom. Though the tech giant is yet to introduce the iPhone 15 series in the market there are already rumor about the iPhone 16 series. The iPhone 16 series phones are said to arrive with an upgraded display, camera, and processors.

Known tipster Digital Chat Station has revealed via a Weibo post that the upcoming iPhone 16 series phones could be coming with the super telephoto cameras that were generally seen in high-tech cameras used for sports and wild animal photography. The super telephoto camera will have a focal length of up to 300mm. Though the Weibo user did not directly state which devices the rumor relates to in the iPhone 16 lineup, it is believed to be specifically about the iPhone 16 Pro Max due to their previous remarks.

The same user, claiming that they had got industry insider information, had also shared similar camera information earlier this year.

The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro models’ telephoto camera has a focal length of equivalent to 77mm, so a focal length in excess of 300mm on the iPhone 16 Pro Max would be a very significant leap. The super telephoto camera also provides extremely soft backgrounds, which are useful for portrait photography.

The Cupertino-based tech giant will likely introduce the periscope telephoto camera system for only the pro models starting with the iPhone 15 Pro Max later this year. Then it will arrive for the iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple aims to achieve this feat by expanding the size of the smaller models. Adding the super telephoto periscope to the iPhone 16 Pro Max would enable Apple to maintain differentiation between the two “Pro” devices next year.

Apart from this, the tipster has also emphasized that the sensor on the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be larger by 1/1.14-inches in size. The company aims to achieve a increased dynamic range and background blur for the iPhone camera with the increased sensor size. It will also help users to enhance low-light photography capabilities since a bigger surface area can capture more light with the same shutter speed and aperture.

In comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max currently feature a 1/1.28-inch sensor and no sensor size increase is expected for this year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max.