Apple is reportedly on the hunt for a manufacturer to supply a periscope lens that could feature on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. And while it won’t be the kind of periscope that can pop up and peep around corners, it will enable you to zoom more than ever before.
Periscope lenses offer more zoom capabilities than a standard smartphone lens, delivering 5x or even 10x optical zoom – a pretty big jump from the standard 3x optical zoom you find in most of the best iPhones for photography.
Of course, some of the best camera phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra already feature this technology – Apple has just been characteristically late to the game.
Spring-type actuators, supplied by Alps Alpine and Mizumo, are used in all the current iPhones, but ball guide actuators in periscope lenses are faster at focusing, more accurate and use less power.
This could mean that not only will the iPhone 15 Pro Max benefit from a camera that is faster and able to zoom much closer, but we could see a significant improvement in battery life too. For anyone who shoots a lot of mobile photos and video content, the upgraded features will definitely be advantageous – and if it’s a success, perhaps Apple will start to include periscope lenses on the standard models too.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is due to arrive later this year, usually around the first or second week in September if previous years are anything to go by. While the standard iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro won’t have the periscope lens, Apple is rumored to be ditching the 12MP main camera in favor of a higher-resolution 48MP sensor. No complaints here, as we’re all for any camera upgrades!
These are the best iPhone tripods and supports for easy hands-free shooting or that extra bit of stability or check out our review of the iPhone 14 Pro Max
