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Apple’s iPhone 15 range probably won’t 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 range, which will almost certainly follow in 2024.
That’s according to a new report from the Korean outlet The Electric (opens in new tab) (H/T WCftech (opens in new tab)), Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro models will come with a periscope zoom – a feature widely expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Ultra when the next iPhones arrive in 2023.
In other words, customers waiting until 2024 for their next iPhone upgrade may not have to spend a lot on Apple’s premium handset to take advantage of periscope zoom technology. Instead, the iPhone 16 Pro could be the first mid-level iPhone to offer the coveted photography feature.
Periscope cameras – which get their name from their resemblance to the instrument used on submarines and other naval vessels – essentially allow the viewer to zoom in to the limit while preserving image quality. In the limited space of a phone’s camera module, a periscope camera uses mirrors to allow for more lens elements, and thus a longer zoom length.
Naturally, smartphone-sized iterations of the technology 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) will almost certainly still be at the top of Apple’s smartphone line-up – the iPhone 14 Pro, for example, retails for the not-so-low price of $999/£ 1,099 / AU$1,749 – but the rumored existence of an iPhone 15 Ultra suggests that Apple will also release an iPhone 16 Ultra, which would relegate the iPhone 16 Pro to mid-range status (at least, as Apple devices go).
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The news about the iPhone 16 Pro’s periscope lens comes just days after other rumors suggested that Apple’s Dynamic Island – the virtual notch replacement that debuted as a Pro-exclusive feature on last year’s iPhone 14 series – will be coming in 2023. will find its way to every iPhone 15 model.
So it’s clear that Apple is keen to make its newer, cutting-edge features available to as many users as possible, but only after those features have enjoyed a year of top-tier iPhone exclusivity.
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 publication, we’d bet that both features will also appear on the iPhone 16 Pro.