Any of the three rear cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max models releasing in 2025 should let you take 48-megapixel photographs.
That’s according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who published a new investor note on Medium. Kuo says all three rear cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be upgraded to 48 megapixels, including its 5x 12-megapixel telephoto camera.
Apple began quadrupling the iPhone camera resolution starting with 2023’s iPhone 14 Pro models which swapped a 12-megapixel sensor on the main rear lens for a 48-megapixel one. The ultra-wide and telephoto cameras stayed at 12 megapixels.
In 2024, the iPhone 15 Pro Max introduced a tetraprism lens for 5x optical zoom using a space-saving system of mirrors. This year’s iPhone 16 Pros are expected to upgrade the ultra-wide camera to 48 megapixels.
All iPhone 17 Pro Max cameras should be 48MP
And if Kuo’s prediction comes true, the iPhone 17 Pros will boost the telephoto lens to 48 megapixels. The upgraded sensor will enable enhanced photo quality and zoom functionality, especially when shooting in Portrait Mode.
The telephoto lens should change from the 1/3.1″ 12MP sensor expected to be used in the iPhone 16 Pros to a 1/2.6″ 48MP sensor in the iPhone 17 Pro models. Speaking of this year’s iPhones, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max should gain tetraprism telephoto lenses for 5x optical and 25 digital zoom.
“It is currently uncertain whether only the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the upgraded tetraprism camera,” Kuo wrote. “If so, the iPhone 18 Pro in 2026 will also feature the upgraded tetraprism camera.”
Apple should upgrade its tetraprism technology with more prisms and smaller prism size in time for the iPhone 19 Pros in 2027 “to support a better optical zoom.”
Spatial video capture and Desk View will benefit
The enhanced camera system should boost spatial video recording, Haitong International Securities’ analyst Jeff Pu suggested earlier. When using an iPhone 15 Pro to record spatial video with 3D depth, images from the main 48-megapixel camera and the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera are combined.
This discrepancy between the camera capabilities is why spatial video capture is limited to the 1080p resolution at 30 fps in SDR. With the telephoto camera boosted to 48 megapixels, Apple could enable spatial video recording in 4K HDR.
I’m also excited about the ultra-wide camera going from 12 to 48 megapixels this year. This camera is required for creative Continuity Camera features such as Desk View on the Mac, which uses the iPhone’s ultra-wide camera and perspective correction to show an overhead view of your desk with zero setup.