iPhone 16 Pro to get 120 mm camera says Kuo, again

A supply chain report says the smaller iPhone 16 Pro will have Apple's tetraprism 120 mm camera, driving demand for the technology in 2024.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max may have only released in September, but there are already plenty of rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro inheriting its tetraprism camera. The 120 mm focal length is currently exclusive to Apple's biggest pro model, but that is expected to change in 2024.

Suppy chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared a short report about tetraprism supplier Largan and Apple's orders for 2024. Apple is expected to include the new camera in its smaller pro models in 2024, which would lead to a 160% year-over-year growth in iPhones with the technology.

Kuo's earlier report suggested iPhones using tetraprism would increase by only 110%, but that was due to lower yield rates from Largan. Apple has worked with Largan to increase the yield from 40% in 3Q23 to 70% or more in 4Q23.

That change has made the component more profitable to assemble. Largan also supplies periscope lenses to Huawei, which will also increase its use of the component in 2024.

Kuo's report is sourced from supply chain orders. His history of accuracy and supply chain reporting make this report more likely.

Apple will reveal the iPhone 16 Pro in September 2024. Rumors suggest it will have larger displays, new camera systems, and Wi-Fi 7.

15 Comments

Ofer 269 comments · 8 Years

About 1 year ago

Any chance of the periscope lens technology being evolved within the next couple of years to enable an adjustment of the distance between the lens elements so that you have a true variable zoom lens in an iPhone?

timmillea 246 comments · 16 Years

Ofer said:

Any chance of the periscope lens technology being evolved within the next couple of years to enable an adjustment of the distance between the lens elements so that you have a true variable zoom lens in an iPhone?

No. The whole point of using a 48MP sensor is to enable flexible use between resolution, dynamic range and digital zoom between the different fixed optical focal lengths. The mechanics of an optical zoom would be complex, take up more space, delicate and liable to be a major source of warranty claims.

A photographer would tell you to not to be so lazy and move position instead.

mrstep 523 comments · 15 Years

About 11 months ago

timmillea said:
A photographer would tell you to not to be so lazy and move position instead.

Which isn’t always an option both in terms of where you may be able to walk and for timing and also gives different perspective in photos - so while I’ve also seen “photographers” who say to use your feet, it’s not entirely equivalent.

Having seen those sawtooth charts of resolution vs zoom between the 0.5x, 1x and 5x, if you really want the quality and a variable zoom, you still may be looking at a real camera since that’s not Apple’s approach to the zoom. (And a DSLR/mirrorless is better for a number of reasons - real depth of field. low light performance, swappable lenses with better optics, ergonomics… Just not convenience.)

beowulfschmidt 2348 comments · 12 Years

I've taken some really, really, good pictures with my phone. And for spontaneously capturing those fleeting moments of children playing, it can't be beat.

But there are still uses for a larger, more powerful, more flexible camera.

tmay 6455 comments · 11 Years

beowulfschmidt said:

I've taken some really, really, good pictures with my phone. And for spontaneously capturing those fleeting moments of children playing, it can't be beat.

But there are still uses for a larger, more powerful, more flexible camera.

I happened to see this yesterday;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPVHVtQClp8

Fuji GX680III

Beast...