Next year’s iPhone 16 Pro looks set for a significant upgrade over this year’s model, bringing it into line with the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max variant in one key specification.
According to a new report from TF Securities analyst and supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo, both iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to receive a 5x telephoto lens, bringing Apple’s most powerful ‘tetraprism’ long-range zoom camera to the smaller ‘Pro’ iPhone for the first time. This will result in a “160% year-on-year growth in iPhones with this camera in 2024,” says Kuo.
Kuo has been anticipating this particular iPhone 16 Pro upgrade for some time now, having correctly predicted earlier this year that the smaller iPhone 15 Pro would miss out on the flagship camera—currently available only in the iPhone 15 Pro Max—due to supply chain issues with tetraprism lens manufacturer Largan Precision.
According to the report, Largan has made “significant improvements” in the production of its tetraprism lens assembly, achieving a production yield of over 70%, up from approximately 40% in the third quarter of 2023. Kuo claims this has led to increased demand for this type of lens from Apple and Huawei in particular, leading to a 130% increase in total orders for 2024.
While the increased availability of tetraprism lenses is good news for future iPhone customers, this fact alone offers no guarantee that Apple will bring its 5x telephoto lens to the standard iPhone 16 Pro. Kuo may be correct in his prediction, but other factors will come into play, such as the physical constraints of the case and any product differentiation Apple may decide to keep between the two iPhone Pro variants moving forward.
However, fans of smaller phones would undoubtedly welcome the upgrade as potential iPhone 16 Pro customers would no longer be forced to buy the larger and more expensive Pro Max model simply to obtain Apple’s best camera.
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