Periscope camera would only be limited to iPhone 15 Pro Max / iPhone 15 Ultra, claims analyst

• Apple is expected to release its first periscope camera with the iPhone 15 Pro Max / iPhone 15 Ultra.
• With the new technology, the iPhone 15 Pro Max / Ultra could have up to 6x optical zoom.
• The iPhone 15 series will rxelease in the second half of the year.

Tech giant Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 15 lineup in the second half of 2023, and it is expected to be the first series from Apple to feature a periscope camera. In a recent tweet, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed the tech giant will limit the periscope lens only to the highest-end model launched by the company, which will also be the convention in the iPhone 16 series.

The iPhone 15 series is expected to consist of four smartphones – iPhone 15, iPhone 15
Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which will likely be renamed iPhone 15 Ultra.

What Is A Smartphone Periscope Camera? And How Does It Work?

Simply put, a periscope camera (also referred to as a periscope zoom lens) in a smartphone refers to a mobile phone camera unit which, due to employing a prism mirror system, extends its focal length by positioning the image sensor and zooms lens array sideways.

This limits the protuberance at the back of the phone while providing greater optical zoom than usually found on a typical smartphone camera.

The first mainstream smartphone to feature a periscope zoom camera is popularly believed to be 2019’s Huawei’s P30 Pro, although Oppo unveiled this technology at the Mobile World Congress back in 2017.

However, some people believe that smartphone periscope camera technology dates back to 2004 with sharp 902 mobile phone which had 2x optical zoom. This is pretty impressive given that the first camera phone had hit the market only a few years earlier.

What is a periscope zoom lens?

The smartphone periscope camera is sometimes called a periscope zoom lens. This is mainly because of how the smartphone camera’s zoom lens array is positioned. To better understand this, let’s look at how typical mobile camera components are arranged.

On the back of a smartphone, you’ll find the round space(s) where the camera unit is installed and fitted with a protective glass/plastic layer that protects the lens(es) and the camera unit as a whole.

When the camera captures light information to create a picture, it enters the camera straight on and goes directly through the lens array and then onto the smartphone camera sensor.

How does Periscope Camera Work ?

To understand this better, think of what the word periscope is most associated with– submarines. Submarine periscopes are basically bent tubes with mirrors used to see what’s happening above the water from below the surface. The mirrors are placed at an angle at the corners of the pipes and reflect light as it enters until it reaches the eye via an array of lenses.

A periscope camera works similar to submarine periscopes. A mirror system is installed where the lens would have normally been. So, instead of having light enter the camera directly through the lens and then onto the camera, the periscope system takes the incoming light and reflects it 90 degrees through the lens array and onto the sensor.

Periscope zoom vs optical zoom vs digital zoom Optical zoom relies on moving mechanical and glass elements to achieve magnification with minimal loss in picture quality. When the glass elements that make up the lens array move back and forth in relation to each other, you can capture a wide shot of the scene or a more zoomed-in shot.

With digital zoom, this is not possible because there are no moving glass elements that can magnify the image. To make up for this, the camera crops the image and enlarges it.

It then uses computational photography to fill in the rest of the pixel information that is missing. However, the results aren’t as good as with optical zoom. Periscope zoom on smartphone cameras is similar in operation to optical zoom in that it has a lens array with multiple lenses that move back and forth to zoom in and out optically. The difference is the focal length of these two systems.

The further you zoom in, the more the focal length increases. This is why telephoto lenses for DSLR cameras are so long. They can range from about 70mm to upwards of 300mm, which is very long.

iPhone 15 Pro Max / iPhone 15 Ultra Camera

The analyst stated on Twitter that Apple would release its first periscope camera with the iPhone 15 Pro Max / Ultra, implying that the lens will be a key differentiator between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max / iPhone 15 Ultra, thereby giving buyers an additional incentive to buy the most expensive model. A periscope lens is said to provide optical zoom capabilities allowing for 5x or even 10x optical zoom.

With the new technology, the iPhone 15 Pro Max / Ultra could have up to 6x optical zoom.
A previous report also indicated the same information. However, the tweet from the analyst contradicts recent information from The Elec, which claimed that the periscope camera would be available on both the iPhone 16 Pro Max / Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro.

What’s the Big Deal about a Periscope Camera?

The technology refracts light onto the lens sensor for magnification, with the lens mechanics built into the inside of the smartphone rather than the outside, as a traditional zoom lens for a DSLR does. It has progressed to the point where lenses in smartphones are compact enough to fit into a standard lens enclosure and do not take up too much internal space.

However, Apple wont be the first smartphone brand to bring this technology as it has already been seen in smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra models, the Google Pixel 7 Pro and 6 Pro, OnePlus 10 Ultra and a few others. OPPO was the first to introduce the periscope lens technology and it was first seen on a mainstream phone on the 2019 Huawei P30 Pro. The company’s new technology, dubbed 5x, manages to cram a telephoto lens inside a smartphone, enabling 5x “lossless” zooming.

iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra Specifications (Expected)

All iPhone 15 series models may feature the Dynamic Island introduced with the iPhone 14
Pro models. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra will come with features like an A17 chipset, increased RAM, a titanium frame, solid-state buttons, and much more.

A recent report said that Apple is working on 8K video recording, but it’s unclear if this is just for the iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro. The report also said that Apple might be working on making the iPhone Ultra’s battery last up to 3-4 hours longer. The same report also stated that the tech giant might raise the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra to $1,199, up from $1,099 for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

iPhone 15 Pro Max Key Specifications

Performance

Display

Design

Camera

Battery

Storage

Network & Connectivity

Multimedia

Sensors

iPhone 15 Ultra Key Specifications

Faqs on Apple Periscope Camera iPhone 15 pro max & IPhone 15 ultra

1) Which phones have periscope lens?

Ans) ZTE Axon 40 UltraPhones.
huawei.
Oppo.
Samsung.
Vivo.
Samsun Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
Vivo X80

2) Which smartphone has the first periscope lens?

Ans) The new Sony Xperia is different, not only because it’s a Sony, but also because it features a periscope camera for continuous optical zoom and 120fps read-out sensor.

3) What are some of the new features expected in the iPhone 15 series?

Ans) Although there is no official confirmation year, iPhone 15 series will most likely have a faster A17 Bionic processor, better build quality, solid state buttons instead of the regular volume rockers and bigger RAM for optimum multitasking.

4) What is the expected price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max model?

Ans) The iPhone’s top-end model with at least up to 1TB internal storage might cost somewhere around $1,799 (which is approx. Rs 1,48,000)

5) Will iPhone 15 Pro have a more premium design?

Ans) Yes, the iPhone 15 Pro series is likely to feature a titanium mid-frame, which will make it look more premium and will also bring down the weight of the device by a couple of grams.

6) Which processor will power the iPhone 15 series?

Ans) The iPhone 15 and the 15 Plus are likely to be powered by the A16 Bionic while the iPhone 15 Pro series will make use of the new A17 Bionic processor, which is also said to be the first processor from Apple to be fabbed using TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process.

7) Will iPhone 15 Pro offer Dynamic Island?

Ans) yes , as of now, all four iPhone 15 models are said to feature Dynamic Island, including the entry-level iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus.

8) What camera features will the iPhone 15 series have?

Ans) The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will have a dual-camera system while the iPhone Pro models feature an improved triple camera system with a periscope zoom lens.

9) Will iPhone 15 series have a lighting port or a USB Type-C port?

Ans) The iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro are said to feature a USB Type-C port for charging and data syncing.

10) What iOS version will the iPhone 15 have?

Ans) iPhone 15 series will ship with iOS 17 out-of-the-box which will be announced at the upcoming WWDC 2023.

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