Will iPhones Get Periscopic Telephoto Lens Soon?

Periscope lenses are basically ‘zoom’ lenses that allows higher optical ranges similar to a telephoto camera.

While most of the rumours on iPhone are currently focussed on iPhone 13 devices, Apple fans may face some disappointment because a new research note has suggested that iPhones will not have ‘periscope telephoto lens’ until 2023.

This has been revealed by TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a well respected analyst with a superb track record for Apple information.

According to a report by MacRumours, the analyst had earlier speculated that the tech giant could move towards periscope camera for its iPhone flagship devices by 2022.

Earlier, Kuo had also mentioned that Apple could partner with China’s Sunny Optical and Semco Limited for production of these ‘periscope lenses’

What Are ‘Periscope Lenses’?

Periscope lenses are basically ‘zoom’ lenses that allow great optical range similar to a conventional telephoto camera.

These zoom-in lenses offer higher optical range than a regular telephoto camera. If a phone has a periscopic lens then it can provide a minimum hybrid zooming range of at least 10x.

Whereas a phone with vertically stacked telephoto lens will be only limited to smaller and hybrid zoom range.

Why Should Apple Fans Worry?

Mobile phone companies including Huawei, Samsung, and Oppo have been using periscope lenses and as expected the image quality has enhanced in these devices. Samsung now offers as much as 100x Space Zoom technology on its flagship devices.

Meanwhile, iPhone 12 pro has 2x optical zoom only. The construction of the periscope-shaped lens will enable optical zooming ‘without increasing camera bump’.

iPhone to Introduce Unibody Lenses

Kuo speculates that in 2022 iPhones will have improved rear cameras and adopt a new ‘unibody lens design’. This will help Apple reduce the size of the front camera module.

“To reduce the front camera module's size, we predict that the new ‌iPhone‌ will adopt a unibody lens design in 2H22 at the earliest. This design requires the lens and VCM [voice coil motor] to be assembled before shipping to CCM. Since Largan will start shipping ‌iPhone‌ VCM for new iPhones in 2H21, we believe that if Apple adopts the unibody lens design in the future, Largan, a new VCM supplier, can integrate lens design production advantages and benefit from this new trend,” informed Kuo in a statement.