The iPhone 16 lineup is mere days away from launch, with details related to the devices keep pouring in. This time, we have information on the camera hardware of the ‘Pro’ models. Last year, only the iPhone 15 Pro Max housed a tetraprism camera which was capable of offering optical zoom with up to 5x magnification. However, the smaller ‘Pro’ was left in the dust as it did not house the enhanced zoom functionality. Now, it is being reported that both of the iPhone 16 Pro models will use a tetraprism lens from the same supplier.
iPhone 16 Pro to get 5x optical zoom functionality, same as the bigger ‘Pro Max’ due to its bigger chassis
According to a new report from The Elec, LG Innotek will be Apple’s sole provider of the tetraprism lens for both ‘Pro’ models of the iPhone 16, which are rumored to launch on September 20th, with the announcement set for September 10th. If you are not familiar with it, the tetraprism lens is a folded glass structure below the actual lens that can offer enhanced optical zoom. It can reflect light four times over, and this is where the technology gets its name from. Overall, it can manage longer focal lengths of 120mm, which will derive 5x optical zoom without quality loss.
This means that the iPhone 16 Pro models will be able to zoom in without actually hurting the image or video quality, a feature that was limited to the bigger iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. We are glad to see that both models will get the upgrade, but it remains to be seen if the iPhone 16 Pro Max will offer higher optical zoom than its smaller counterpart.
Apart from this, the company uses 3D sensor-shift technology for better stabilization, but the technology was also limited to the Pro Max variant as it housed more space inside. Now that the iPhone 16 Pro is getting slightly bigger, we suspect the company will bring sensor-shift to its 6.3-inch ‘Pro’ model as well.
Currently, only LG Innotek will be responsible for providing the new tetraprism lens for the ‘Pro’ models, but when the initial stock runs out, Apple will seek assistance from Foxconn and Cowell for the folded lens technology. Sharp, on the other hand, has been put off from the list of suppliers for the lens this year, but we might see the supplier jumping on the bandwagon later on. As mentioned, Apple could announce the iPhone 16 lineup on September 10 alongside the Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4.
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