iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Ultra will feature periscope camera, Kuo claims

Just days after Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 series at its Far Out event, the rumour mill began churning out speculations surrounding the iPhone 15 series models. Meanwhile, the American tech giant is still mum on its plan to unveil the next-gen iPhones.

Still, the word on the street is that Apple is prepping to take the wraps off the iPhone 15 lineup in the second half of this year. If rumours making the rounds online turn out to be true, this will be Apple's first iPhone series to come with a periscope camera.

According to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Cupertino-based tech behemoth will bring the periscope lens only to its higher-end iPhone series models. In other words, the periscope lens will be limited only to the top-end models in the iPhone 16 series as well.

The iPhone 15 series is expected to comprise four models including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max (or iPhone 15 Ultra).

iPhone 15 Pro Max (iPhone 15 Ultra) Camera

According to Kuo, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the first smartphone from Apple to feature its periscope camera. So, it looks like the company wants to widen the gap between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max models. Nonetheless, this strategy will encourage Apple fans to purchase the more expensive iPhone model.

A periscope lens will reportedly support 5x and even 10x optical zoom. The new technology will enable the iPhone 15 Pro Max to support up to 6x optical zoom. Notably, Kuo's latest tweet doesn't align with an earlier report by The Elec, which claims the periscope camera will be available on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

A periscope camera uses a technology that involves refracting light onto the lens sensor. This causes magnification. Also, this lens mechanics is built inside the smartphone, unlike the zoom lens for a DSLR, which is built outside. In fact, the modern lenses in smartphones are so compact that they can fit inside a regular lens enclosure without taking up a lot of space.

It is worth mentioning that leading smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, OnePlus, and Google have already adopted this technology. To those unaware, Oppo introduced periscope lens technology, which appeared for the first time on the Huawei P30 Pro in 2019.