Malcolm Owen
The rumored iPhone 17 Slim won't have a telephoto camera on the back, with a report insisting it will still be a Pro-level feature in 2025.
The iPhone 17 Slim is thought to include quite a few impressive features, but it won't be a Pro-grade device. That means it won't be getting a telephoto camera at all.
In a report from TheElec about LG Innotek investing 375.9 billion won ($267.4 million) into new camera module facilities, it discusses the target market for the modules. It reveals that the modules will be destined for the iPhone 17 generation, Apple's 2025 smartphone line.
The discussion explains that the cameras in the iPhone 17 will have better specifications. However, the folded zoom of the telephoto lens will only be available in the two Pro models, as usual.
If this is true, that means the iPhone 17 generation will get a combo of two lenses for the non-Pro versions, consisting of an ultra-wide lens and a standard wide version. As the rumored iPhone 17 Slim, Fold, or Air is believed to be a non-Pro model, it therefore won't get the telephoto camera.
This is somewhat to be expected, given the production challenges behind the Fold. With a thickness of just 6mm, it will be a challenge for Apple to include multiple bulky camera modules in the design.
Indeed, it is currently speculated that Apple could include just one camera in the model, because of the space limitations.
While one camera could be included, users may not necessarily lose out on having two physical lenses. Since it already uses a crop from a high-resolution wide-angle lens to create a 2x zoom, it could reuse the trick with the one camera in the Fold to fake having two cameras.
The iPhone 17 Slim is also expected to have an A19 chip, a 6.6-inch display, and a 24-megapixel front camera.
-m.jpg)
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Marko Zivkovic
William Gallagher
Andrew O'Hara
8 Comments
It is only supposed to have one camera. I’m not sure anyone expected it to be a tele. It would be the regular camera, maybe with a 48mp so you could do a bit of digital zoom, but that would be it.
Good. Great. Where do I sign? This whole pointless and senseless obsession with the camera, the camera, the camera. I would much rather Apple spent its time and resources on constantly improving security; the annoying keyboard that I constantly make errors on - and I am a touch typist on the Mac; more streamlined and intuitive way to navigate the settings without having to reach for the Encyclopaedia to find a setting to turn something off or on.
For my money I am happy for Apple to offer an iPhone Slim with just a basic camera that let's me take photos, particularly those where there is a reflective surface that does not show me taking the photo. That is so annoying.
If I wanted to become Ansel Adams I would have gone to a Photography class and bought a Leica not some silly phone.
I'd say it's impossible that this relates to an iPhone Fold with the current 'thinness' of folding phones already at 3.66mm (unfolded). They will only get thinner over the next two years with the exceptions being the camera bump and charging port.
An option for a non-folding, 'slim' phone could include a retractable lens as that is already an option on a high end Android flagship.
I think most people would want a longer lasting battery, even if it means a slightly thicker phone. Nobody cares about having the thinnest phone if battery life is a joke compared with regular phones. I think breakthroughs in battery technology are more important than cameras. Battery breakthroughs are the next big thing, not cameras.