Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Will Bring Remarkable Upgrade, Report Claims
The 2024 series of iPhones is already being developed. A new report from Taiwanese site Economic Daily News says that there are big changes coming, affecting the next iPhone’s design in terms of one of a smartphone’s most important elements: the camera.
The report says that the next iPhone will be radically changed in one particular way: the lenses on the iPhone 16 Pro. It’s not clear if this means the iPhone 16 Pro, the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max or both.
Apple is setting great store by revising the camera and lens, apparently. The plan is that Apple will use advanced moulded glass lenses on the next Pro model, which in turn means a lighter, thinner design. The lenses will be shorter and have better optical zoom magnification. And the lenses could make it possible to
It’s claimed that the change will only change the telephoto lens. Which is interesting because it’s currently the only photographic difference between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Pro has a 3x zoom equivalent compared to the main lens, while the tetraprism in the Pro Max’s telephoto lens means it can manage a 5x zoom equivalent.
So, a change to the telephoto lens would be interesting, so soon after it has been upgraded for the Max.
What’s more, the limitation to the telephoto lens is down to how difficult it is to produce the lens and how limited production capacity might be. This is why the preparation of materials has begun about a year in advance, which the report says is the first time this has been done. Apple won’t be alone using molded glass—Oppo and Vivo are looking into this process, too.
The stakes are high, then, and as a result, Apple visited glass manufacturer Hoya to check in and ensure the lenses could be delivered.
This latest report vies with a previous suggestion that moulded glass was on its way for the iPhone 16 Pro and that it would lead to the introduction of a super telephoto lens, meaning one with a focal length of 300mm or more. As a comparison, the 5x lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a focal length of 120mm.
There’s a sting in the tail, though, in the form of the price. It’s thought that the cost will be pushed up by molded glass. The estimated cost, the report says, “will increase by 10% to 20%”. It also says the “iPhone 16 flagship model may have price pressure next year.”
This is a potentially exciting development, though the prospect of a higher cost is hardly welcome.
