Apple’s 5x Periscope Telephoto Camera Will Remain Exclusive to iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max: Report

Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup is at least an year away from launch, however, speculations about the camera capabilities of the iPhone 17 series are now doing rounds on the Web. A recent leak suggests that Apple will keep periscope cameras exclusive to the Pro models next year. LG Innotek, an electronic component manufacturer, is reportedly investing in new facilities, possibly to be ready for next year’s iPhone 17 Pro cameras. This year’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max came with a tetraprism 5x zoom lens, which was also used on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Slim Models May Lack 5x Telephoto Lens

Korean publication DigiTimes claims that only the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will get the 5x periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom next year. As per the report, Apple supplier LG Innotek will reportedly invest KRW 375.9 billion (roughly Rs. 2 crore) to secure new facilities for camera modules and these facilities seem to be aimed at producing the camera modules of next year’s iPhone 17 series.

Apple will bring camera upgrades to the iPhone 17 series, but will also apply the folded zoom to only the iPhone 17 Pro models, just like the iPhone 16 series this year.

The Cupertino giant usually reserves a few premium features for its Pro models to differentiate the Pro variants from their non-Pro. The company brought the iPhone 15 Pro Max-exclusive tetraprism lens to the smaller iPhone 16 Pro this year. This allows iPhone 16 Pro users to capture up to 5x optical zoom. Next year’s vanilla iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Slim models were initially believed to feature this periscope unit as well.

As per past leaks, Apple will integrate a new under-display Face ID technology in the 2025 iPhone models. The iPhone 17 Pro models are said to be powered by Apple’s A19 Pro chip alongside 12GB RAM, while the standard iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air could run on an A18 or A19 chip with support for 8GB RAM. All four iPhone 17 models could feature 24-megapixel front-facing cameras. The iPhone 17 Air is rumoured to get a single 48-megapixel rear camera.