The iPhone’s camera has long been praised for its user-friendly interface and solid photo quality, but there’s a glaring issue with its telephoto lens that Apple needs to address. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max introduced the 5X tetra-prism telephoto lens, many users (including myself) found it to be impractical for most everyday scenarios.
This became especially clear during my weekend trip to the mountains, where I had plenty of opportunities to take photos but struggled due to the limited versatility of the 5X lens.
Despite enjoying the iPhone camera app’s intuitive design, the zoom functionality has left much to be desired. The switch between lenses is smooth, and the app’s interface allows for quick adjustments with one hand, making it easy to snap shots on the go. But when it comes to the choice of lenses, there’s room for improvement. The 5X zoom is great for very specific situations, like wildlife photography, but for most users who take portraits or landscapes, a 3X or 2X zoom lens would be far more practical. The result? Many shots simply aren’t taken at all. You don’t need a 5X lens for hiking or group photos – it just doesn’t fit the bill.
The 5X zoom works well for photographing distant objects like mountain goats, but that’s about it. For everything else, it falls short. A 3X zoom would’ve been much more useful for capturing portraits or mid-distance shots. And while I’m relieved Apple didn’t go for an even longer 10X zoom like Samsung’s, it still doesn’t solve the problem at hand.
Looking ahead, Apple appears to be addressing this issue with the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro. Leaks suggest that the 5X lens will be replaced with a more versatile 3.5X zoom lens, which is expected to offer better low-light performance, faster aperture, and improved photo quality at 7X zoom thanks to a larger 48MP sensor. This change makes sense, as the 3.5X lens will be far more suitable for most users and will work better in a variety of scenarios. For example, an 85mm focal length is favored for portrait photography, and the 17 Pro will likely deliver this with its new lens.
Apple’s decision to switch to a 3.5X zoom is a move in the right direction. It also means better performance overall, with less noise and faster shutter speeds in low-light conditions. While Apple has had its fair share of blunders lately – particularly with AI integration and the confusing iPhone 17 Air – the 17 Pro’s camera update signals a return to form. It’s exciting to see the company acknowledge and correct its past mistakes, and this shift in lens strategy is a step forward in the right direction. Who knows? The new lens may even get a flashy name like ‘super-prism’ from Apple’s marketing team.