The iPhone 17 Pro’s improved telephoto camera detailed in new report

Macworld

Leaker Majin Bu, who has accurately shared some details of upcoming iPhones in the past, has posted a new article with a little more information about the telephoto camera on the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro. As with the current iPhone lineup, only the Pro models are expected to feature the telephoto camera.

According to his latest intel, the telephoto camera will feature a new 48MP sensor—that part has been reported before by several analysts. What is new is the detail about the focal length. Instead of a 5x zoom (120mm) as on the iPhone 16 Pro models, or the 3x zoom (77mm) of some previous models, the 48MP telephoto on the iPhone 17 Pro will feature a 3.5x zoom (85mm).

This is a little more natural zoom for taking portrait shots, one of the benefits of the less-zoomy 3x telephoto lens on older iPhone Pro models.

But, just as Apple does with the main 48MP sensor today, it will allow for a 2x crop zoom using just the center 12 megapixels of the sensor. So the iPhone 17 Pro will also be able to take 7x (160mm) 12MP shots with perfect optical clarity. Of course, digital zoom will extend the range beyond that.

So that’s the new detail here: The telephoto camera on the next iPhone Pro model will jump from a 12MP 5x camera to a 48MP 3.5x camera with a 2x “optical crop zoom” capability as the current iPhones can do with their 48MP wide camera today.

The iPhone 17 Pro is expected to arrive at an event in September alongside a new member of the iPhone lineup, the iPhone 17 Air. Stay tuned to all the latest rumors with our iPhone 17 superguide.