Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup is unlikely to see the light of day until September 2023, but that hasn’t stopped tipsters from speculating about what to expect from the company’s iPhone 16 lineup, which will surely follow in 2024.
According to a new report from the Korean company The Elec (Opens in a new tab) (H/T Wccftech (Opens in a new tab)), Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro models will arrive with a periscope zoom lens — a feature that’s widely expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Ultra when the next iPhones arrive in 2023.
In other words, customers who wait until 2024 for the next iPhone update may not need to spend big on Apple’s top-of-the-range phone to take advantage of Periscope Zoom technology. Alternatively, the iPhone 16 Pro could be the first “mid-range” iPhone to offer the coveted photography feature.
Periscope cameras, which derive their name from their resemblance to the instrument used on submarines and other naval vessels, allow viewers to zoom in to extreme lengths while maintaining image quality. In the limited space of a phone’s camera module, the periscope camera uses mirrors to allow more lens elements, and thus a longer zoom length.
Of course, smartphone-sized iterations are expensive to produce, and periscope cameras have so far been reserved for high-end models like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Huawei P50 Pro, Honor Magic 4 Pro, and Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
Of course, the iPhone 16 Pro (and its inevitable Pro Max sibling) are sure to remain at the top of Apple’s smartphone range – say the iPhone 14 Pro, retailing at $999 / £1,099 / AU$1,749 – But a rumored iPhone 15 Ultra suggests that Apple will also launch the iPhone 16 Ultra, which would catapult the iPhone 16 Pro to mid-tier status (as Apple devices go, at least).
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News of the iPhone 16 Pro’s periscope lens comes just days after other rumors indicated that Apple’s Dynamic Island — a default variant that debuted as an exclusive feature in last year’s iPhone 14 lineup — would find its way to every iPhone 15 model in 2023.
It’s clear, then, that Apple is eager to make its latest, cutting-edge features available to as many users as possible — but only after those features have enjoyed a year of the highest level of exclusivity on the iPhone.
Other features touted as exclusive to the rumored iPhone 15 Ultra include Apple’s next chip upgrade – likely the A17 Bionic – and a titanium frame. If we were a betting post, we’d bet both of these features will appear on the iPhone 16 Pro as well.