It's been clear for a while that the iPhone 13 isn't going to get a periscope zoom lens to match the Samsung S21 Ultra (and, we're sure, the Samsung Galaxy S22), but a new report suggests that it might not make it into the iPhone 14 either: according to Korean website The Elec, via MacRumors, Apple’s plans for a folded phone lens aren’t going to make it into production before 2023.
Folded or “periscope” lenses solve one of the biggest problems with smartphones: if you want big zooms you need a lot of room, and that’s something today’s super-slim phones simply don’t have. Since no one wants to go retro and stick an enormous telescopic lens on the back, periscope lenses offer a much more elegant solution: they use mirrors to fold the optics so instead of sticking out from the back of the phone, they run along the back of it. The result: massively improved optical zoom without a massively thicker phone case or camera bump.
Why I'm pro-periscope
I’m currently using an iPhone 12 Pro which only goes up to 2x zoom (or 2.5x on the iPhone 12 Pro Max) before the digital zoom kicks in. It’s a really nice camera setup but it isn’t great in the one environment where I take the most photos: live gigs. Now live music is back I’m back to snapping the shows I go to, and that means I’m back to missing the days when I used to take a superzoom camera: my phone takes wonderful photos in most environments but its optical zoom isn’t very big and the digital zoom isn’t great. Here’s a recent example.
See what I mean? I wasn’t shooting from very far away but this is as good quality as I can expect to get at shows: zoom in more and it gets very jaggy very quickly. With a periscope lens, I’d be able to get much sharper shots that would get me closer to the performer: with a similar periscope lens to the one in the Huawei P40 Pro+ I’d be able to get a 10x optical zoom, just like I had in my superzoom camera. But sadly it looks like I’ve a couple more years of disappointing concert pics before I can get that tech in my iPhone 15.
Not everyone will use these superzoom lenses all the time, but the point is to make it actually possible, and to capture things you couldn't before. And isn't each iPhone always supposed to help you do more?
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
4 Elite athletes share their best advice to prepare for a HYROX
Because who better to get some words of wisdom from than the pros themselves, right?
By Bryony Firth-Bernard Published
-
7 tips to help you sleep with a blocked nose
Tackle the cold and flu season with these helpful sleep tips
By Bethan Girdler-Maslen Published
-
5G in-flight: EU scraps the need for Airplane Mode from 2023
If you're flying in Europe next year, you won't need to switch to Airplane Mode for takeoff
By Mat Gallagher Published
-
Google Pixel 7 review: yet another smartphone success story
The Google Pixel 7 has just about everything you could want from a smartphone in 2022 - and it's reasonably priced too
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
3 reasons mobile gamers will love the OnePlus 10T
The OnePlus 10T is a performance-focused flagship smartphone that will be particularly well suited to gamers
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
3 reasons to buy a OnePlus 10T over a Samsung Galaxy S22 — and 2 not to
Both are excellent Android smartphones, but there are a few factors that will determine which one will be best for you
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
OnePlus 10T vs OnePlus 10 Pro: what’s the difference?
The latest addition to OnePlus’ flagship series takes a few steps forwards and a few steps back - here’s how
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
The OnePlus 10T misses out one of my favourite features but it may not be gone forever
The OnePlus 10T is their most powerful smartphone yet so sacrifices had to be made somewhere...
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
OnePlus 10T review: a performance-focused flagship phone
The OnePlus 10T is a powerful phone with incredibly fast charging capabilities
By Yasmine Crossland Published
-
WhatsApp users just got this great upgrade on iPhone and Android
WhatsApp's upgrades continue with vastly improved features for group calls and smartphone switchers
By Carrie Marshall Published