Apple Testing High-Res Telephoto Lens for Next Year's iPhones
Multiple sources confirm on March 26, including leakers and forums.macrumors.com reports stating the company is currently evaluating a new camera sensor. This device features an unprecedented resolution of up to 200 megapixels specifically designed as teleoptical hardware rather than standard wide-angle or ultrawide lenses for future iPhones that could ship next year.
Key Points
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1Apple is actively testing a new 200-megapixel telephoto camera sensor that could ship in an upcoming model as soon as next year.
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2The source of this information is Digital Chat Station, a leaker on the Chinese social media platform Weibo with a known track record for accurate leaks. This report contradicts earlier rumors suggesting such technology would not arrive until 2027 or later.
Developments
Perspectives
Apple is evaluating a new camera sensor with up to two hundred megapixels that could be used in an upcoming model of its smartphone.
— [Mar 26] Apple Testing iPhone Camera That Could Ship Next Year (Feeds.macrumors.com)The latest report suggests the twenty-megapixel telephoto lens will feature a larger sensor, which is considered good news compared to previous reports that suggested squeezing pixels into smaller sensors would negatively impact low-light photography.
— [Mar 26] Apple's rumoured camera said to have larger sensor (9to5mac)The new twenty-megapixel telephoto lens will be used in the iPhone seventeen Pro Max, which currently has a forty-eight megapixels rear cameras and is expected by rivals.
— [Mar 26] iPhone nineteen rumored get camera for catching up with rival phones (Appleinsider)The twenty-megapixel telephoto lens will be used in the iphone eighteen rather than the nineteenth, according to Omdia analysis of next year's iPhones dubbed as such.
— [Mar 26] The nineteen could sport a camera sensor for iPhone world todayApple is reportedly testing an active prototype of its first-ever dedicated telephoto camera sensor with a resolution up to 200 megapixels, which could ship in the next year. This development marks significant progress from earlier claims that such sensors were only being discussed without prototypes and contradicts analyst predictions placing this feature as far away until at least late-stage production cycles around early-to-mid-terms of future models (e.g., 2028).
Apple plans to launch an iPhone with a larger-than-ever large-sensor camera in either late- or early-mid next year (likely the latter). This new design aims to solve low-light noise issues by increasing physical pixel size rather than just stacking more megapixels onto existing sensors.
According to leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo based in reliable supply chain sources, Apple has begun testing an integrated 20MP telephoto sensor for the iPhone Pro series starting with models released around late-December (likely referring to a future model year). This new camera configuration is reportedly being evaluated as part of ongoing efforts to catch up with rival phones.