The iPhone 17 Pro Max is rumored to get a major camera upgrade
Most of the iPhone rumors we're seeing now focus on the iPhone 16 due for release in 2024, but there's also speculation about what will happen the following year with the iPhone 17, and specifically the iPhone's onboard cameras 17 Pro Max.
According to industry analyst Jeff Pu (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Pro Max will come with a 48MP periscope telephoto camera as one of the rear cameras, and it will be optimized for video recording for the Apple Vision Pro.
We've already seen videos shot with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in Apple's mixed reality headset, and the 3D results are impressive. It seems that the quality will improve even further in the coming years.
Pu doesn't elaborate on what we can expect from the most expensive iPhone from 2025, nor does it elaborate on how the Pro Max model might differ from the others in the series when it comes to cameras.
Cameras in numbers
As you can read in our iPhone 15 Pro Max review, this year's best iPhone handset comes with a 48MP main camera, a 12MP periscope telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom and a 12MP ultrawide camera on the back. The iPhone 15 Pro matches those numbers, except for using a standard 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
With the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max rumored to be getting a 48MP ultra-wide camera next year, this would mean the iPhone 17 Pro Max will get three 48MP cameras in the rear module – a seriously high-end setup.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max's periscope telephoto camera uses a tetraprism design, which uses a folded glass structure to reflect light repeatedly. This means that a greater optical zoom level can be achieved in a more compact form factor.
It's worth remembering that a lot can change in two years, and we wouldn't take these leaks too seriously until we're closer to the iPhone 17's launch – but it looks like mobile photography will be a major focus will continue for the handset series.