iPhone 17 Pro rumors say telephoto camera could get bigger upgrade than we thought
The new 48MP telephoto camera on the Apple's iPhone 17 Pro could get a huge improvement for portrait photos
📸 Apple will reportedly add a new 48MP telephoto camera to the iPhone 17 Pro Max
👀 The camera will give you a big boost in resolution
🔭 A new rumor suggests it’ll let you zoom in 3.5x for better portraits
🏞️ It’ll rely on more of the detail in the sensor to not lose any quality
📅 The iPhone 17 Pro series is expected to launch this September
Apple is expected to give the iPhone a big camera upgrade this year, and according to the latest iPhone 17 Pro rumors, it looks like it could offer the best portrait experience yet on an Apple device.
The company is rumored to upgrade the telephoto lens on the 17 Pro and Pro Max, replacing the aging 12MP sensor with a new 48MP sensor. This will allow for more detail and light to be captured and make for better zoom photos. However, instead of 5x optical zoom, the camera will switch to 3.5x zoom, according to famous leaker Majin Bu. Why? For better portrait photos.
A 3.5x zoom is equivalent to an 85mm focal length, which is oftentimes preferred by photographers for taking portraits of people, objects, and scenes. It’s a less aggressive zoom and doesn’t force you to take a few steps back to capture your subject. It’s smack in the middle of 2x and 5x, the two zoom settings the iPhone 16 Pro offers now, so it’ll still crop in a bit more than usual but give you more of the scene in a single photo. While it’s not quite as far as 5x, it seems like it could be more useful in the end.
Apple will also reportedly offer 7x hybrid zoom on the iPhone 17 Pro, in addition to other focal lengths with digital zoom.
Other camera upgrades we expect on the iPhone 17 Pro include 8K video recording, a new 24MP selfie camera, and a new ultra-wide lens with a mechanical aperture. The device is expected to come with a huge camera bar on the back (similar to the Pixel 9 Pro XL), Apple’s A19 Pro processor, a bigger battery, a new cooling system, and an aluminum build opposed to titanium.
We expect the iPhone 17 Pro to ship this September alongside the regular iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air.
Max Buondonno is Editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
