iPhone 15 Pro Max surprise rumour reveals major camera upgrade

Those who want to shoot the very best photos on their phone should be excited by the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max rumour. Apple’s next flagship is apparently in line to receive a significant boost to what is already one of the best camera phones available. 

According to Apple leaker Unknownz21, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature the first Periscope lens on an iPhone, something fans have been begging Apple to add for a long time. 

Interestingly this leak suggests that only the Pro Max, and not the iPhone 15 Pro will be receiving this upgrade. While disappointing, the increased size of the Pro Max does give it more space to work with, and suggests the bigger model may have a slightly different design to accommodate it. Perhaps this difference in features signals an attempt to make the iPhone 15 Pro Max into an iPhone 15 Ultra-style device.  

 What is the benefit of a periscope lens?

If the iPhone 15 Pro Max does come with a periscope lens then expect to see a much better optical zoom on the phone. The existing iPhone 4 Pro Max (and iPhone 14 Pro) offers 3x optical zoom, some rumours suggest that we could see the Periscope lens boost that capability to as much as 6x. The iPhone 14 Pro Max may offer digital zoom up to 15x, but this is much blurrier and obscures details. 

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200 MP camera has 3x optical zoom as well as a 10x camera with a hybrid of optical and digital zoom. When it comes to digital zoom, it’s capable of up to 100x. 

It’s clear that in this respect, Apple needs to catch up to its rival, and adding a hardware boost to Apple’s excellent camera software will only make the iPhone 15 Pro Max an even more enticing device.