iPhone 15 Pro Max could dethrone the Galaxy S23 Ultra as the best camera phone

The much-awaited iPhone 15 Pro Max could dethrone Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy S23 Ultra as the best camera phone available on the market. Understandably, there's a lot of hype surrounding the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which could boast the highest-end specifications.

According to Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities' analyst Jeff Pu, Apple is planning to postpone the iPhone 15 series launch. Still, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to get the most significant changes compared to the standard iPhone 14 models. Specifically, the phone's camera setup has been the subject of the most chatter.

While iPhones have been touted as the best camera phones available, Samsung has been sparing no effort to furnish its smartphones with impressive camera setups. However, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have some exclusive features that will separate it from other high-end smartphones.

Likewise, leaker ShrimpApplePro previously indicated that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will come with a brighter screen than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It is worth noting that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is staking a claim as the best camera available this year. This doesn't come as a surprise given that the handset houses an impressive 200MP main camera, along with a powerful telephoto sensor on the back.

How the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra took the top spot

Recently unveiled Galaxy S series smartphones have received a major bump in the megapixels department. To recap, the Galaxy S20 Ultra came with a 108MP main camera. The newly launched Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, has a mammoth 200MP rear-mounted shooter.

The 200MP main camera allows you to capture photos at full resolution. Aside from this, a Tom's Guide report claims users can combine 16 pixels into one to capture more detailed and brighter shots. Alternatively, you can combine four pixels for a 50MP photo. In other words, the main camera on the Galaxy S23 Ultra gives users a lot of flexibility.

Also, the folks at GSM Arena believe Samsung's processing style delivers vibrant aesthetics, punchier colours, and aggressive HDR. Furthermore, the report claims pictures captured using the Samsung device are more social-media friendly. So, what does that mean for Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max?

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Everything we know so far

It will be interesting to see whether Apple will fight fire with fire by expanding the main camera sensor on its next-generation iPhone. Taking some steps in that direction last year, the Cupertino-based tech giant boosted the main camera sensor of the iPhone 14 Pro models to 48MP. Regretablly, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus retained the 12MP sensors.

It is unclear whether this trend would continue with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, According to tipster Ice Universe, the main camera of the iPhone 15 Pro Max will use a 1/1.4-inch Sony IMX903 sensor. This would be an 11 per cent increase in terms of size compared to the sensor available on the iPhone 14 Pro models. Since bigger sensors capture more light. iPhone 15 Pro Max could deliver brighter photos.

However, leaker Revegnus suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the same main camera sensor used in current iPhone Pro models. If this speculation turns out to be true, the iPhone 15 Pro Max isn't likely to give the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra a run for their money.

iPhone Pro models need a better telephoto lens

The telephoto lens specs for the iPhone Pro series look all right on paper. For instance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 12MP telephoto lens that can deliver 3x optical zoom. However, the iPhones' telephoto lenses are crying out for improvement when their capabilities are compared to other phones. For comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra features two telephoto lenses.

These telephoto lenses offer a better 3x optical zoom, As if that weren't enough, the Galaxy S23 Ultra can digitally zoom up to 100x, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max can go only up to 15x. The word on the street is that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will get a periscope-style telephoto lens. This piece of information was shared by Twitter user Unknownz21.

The periscope design features a vertically stacked telephoto lens, which creates more space to increase the magnification compared to horizontally stacked lenses. In other words, this design will enable a periscope-style telephoto lens to deliver higher optical zoom. Reportedly, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will support a 6x optical zoom.

On the downside, this optical zoom capability isn't likely to arrive on other iPhone 15 models, In fact, Apple seems to be focusing more on limiting premium features to its pricier models lately. Moreover, widening the gap between the Pro and non-Pro iPhone 14 models has led to significant sales success. So, Apple isn't likely to ditch this strategy any time soon.