iPhone 17 Pro Max Leak: 48MP 8x Telephoto Lens Revealed!

As the unveiling of the iPhone 17 draws near, speculation continues to grow. A recent leak from a source on the Chinese social network Weibo has somewhat confirmed that the iPhone 17 Pro Max might reclaim a feature it lacked last year: a more powerful telephoto lens.

Back in the days of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Apple had introduced a slight difference between the two models: a 3x (77 mm) telephoto lens on the Pro and a 5x (120 mm) telephoto on the Pro Max. With the iPhone 16 Pro series, both models shared the same 5x magnification, but this might change with the iPhone 17 Pro series. Current rumors suggest a 5x magnification for the telephoto lens of the iPhone 17 Pro and an 8x magnification for the 17 Pro Max. Additionally, there might be an upgrade to a 48-megapixel sensor for the telephoto lens, a significant improvement from the current 12 megapixels.

According to reports from MacRumors, another novel feature might be added to the iPhone 17 Pro Max: a zoom function with moving parts in the telephoto lens, allowing optical switching between 5x and 8x magnification. Currently, Apple does provide an intermediary 2x zoom mode, but this is merely a digital trick: instead of utilizing the entire 48-megapixel sensor, only the central 12 megapixels are used.