The most expensive Apple iPhone 17, possibly the Pro Max, will feature a telephoto camera with a 48-megapixel sensor, says TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. So far, Apple has equipped the telephoto camera on its iPhones with a 12-megapixel sensor.

The sensor will also be larger, Reports of KoThe current format has an optical format of 1/3.1″ and will be upgraded to 1/2.6″. With the 4:3 ratio, the sensor now goes from about 12 square millimeters to about 18 square millimeters. Kuo is known as an analyst who often has accurate information about unannounced Apple products.

The telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a “quad-prism” lens. After light passes through the lens, it is reflected four times inside the device before reaching the sensor. This bend makes a longer focal length possible and therefore greater “zoom,” without the device needing a telephoto lens. Kuo claims this design will also be available on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. The new, larger sensor and therefore new lens design will come to the iPhone 17 Pro Max from 2025.

In 2027, Apple wants to expand the zoom range of the iPhone 19 Pro Max. This could be done, among other things, by adding more lenses. They would have to be smaller, which would make the design more complex.