The iPhone 15 lineup is finally official, which means it’s time to talk about the second most exciting new iPhone feature (because the USB-C port stole the show) — the improved camera system on the iPhone 15 Pro and (mostly) iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Without a doubt, the more powerful camera system found in Apple’s Pro iPhones is the biggest reason why users choose the Pro models over the vanilla ones, and this year Apple has made sure that the different iPhone models are even more different when it comes to their camera systems.
Quote from Apple iPhone 15 Pro the presentation that really caught my eye was this one:
With the iPhone 15 Pro, you can work with multiple focal lengths. It’s like having seven professional lenses in your pocket wherever you go.
So Apple says that despite only having three real cameras on the back iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, they can use those cameras in a way that makes it feel like you have a whopping seven cameras at your disposal, which sounds impressive. But is it really true?
And it’s the most impressive part of the new web camera system iPhone 15 Pro series, or is it actually the seemingly minor upgrades that end up making all the difference?
That’s why Apple says iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max they have “seven camera lenses” but is it really true?
If I had to summarize the camera situation on the new one iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro MaxI would tell you that the much awaited 5x zoom camera found in the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be the last reason to upgrade this year.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as Apple has ‘brought it on’ in a variety of ways that could make a bigger real difference to how you take photos and how good they look. But more on that in a moment…
The big news surrounding the camera on the new Pro iPhones is that (in a clear push for users to buy the most expensive model), Apple’s Pro iPhones no longer share the same camera system. 6.7 inches iPhone 15 Pro Max now has a new, exclusive camera with 5x optical zoom, while the 6.1-in iPhone 15 Pro they’ll settle for a 3x optical zoom lens – just like last year.
iPhone 15 Pro optical/lossless zoom range (according to Apple):
- Macro mode
- 0.5x (13mm)
- 1x (24mm)
- 1.2x (28mm)
- 1.5x (35mm)
- 2x (48mm)
- 3x (77mm)
- 15x maximum digital zoom
iPhone 15 Pro Max optical/lossless zoom range (according to Apple):
- Macro mode
- 0.5x (13mm)
- 1x (24mm)
- 1.2x (28mm)
- 1.5x (35mm)
- 2x (48mm)
- 5x (120mm)
- 25x maximum digital zoom
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is now peaking 25x digital zoomwhile the iPhone 15 Pro remains 15 times (like iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max). FYI, the Pixel 7 Pro can do that 50x digital zoom and Galaxy S23 Ultra – 100x.
Why does Apple say iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have “seven camera lenses”
As you can see from the “break the lens”, Apple’s seemingly ridiculous claim that it has iPhone 15 Pro/Max is like “having seven professional lenses in your pocket” is technically… true. But don’t be fooled because Apple likes to use fancy terms and expressions to impress customers and this is surely another great marketing by Tim Cook & Co.
More interesting are the new focal lengths of 28 and 35 mm offered by the main camera iPhone 15 Pro. While Apple hasn’t specified whether this is an overly “optical quality” sensor crop, the fact that they’ll also come out as 24MP images (which is the primary camera’s new default resolution across iPhone 15 lineup), convinces me that these are not only digitally enlarged images from the 1x/24mm mode.
But even if Apple has somehow managed to pull the lossless zoom quality down to 28/35mm, the new 1.2x and 1.5x zoom options (which barely offer any magnification) are said to be two additional focal lengths, might be a bit too demanding even for Tim Cook & Co.
In short, it looks like Apple isn’t lying about the whole “seven lenses” thing. However, how useful these “seven lenses” are is another story, so I’ll let you decide whether you care or not.
That being said, I really like the idea of having two additional primary camera focal lengths to choose from on the iPhone. Shooting at 28/35mm will make your scene look a little tighter, which many photographers prefer, myself included. You can even set the primary camera’s new 28/35mm focal lengths as the default, so every time you open the camera you’re taking 28/35mm photos (instead of 24mm) without any extra steps.
Camera with 5x zoom iPhone 15 Pro Max it’s like nothing we’ve seen before, but it’s only special on the inside?
In other news, the smartphone industry’s zoom competition continues, and Apple has finally joined the race with its own high-zoom camera solution. And in true Apple style, Cupertino had to do things a little differently…
For the nerds in our audience, Apple’s unorthodox 5x optical zoom solution also explains the circular look iPhone 15 Pro Max’s camera with 5x zoom. Traditional periscope cameras look square on the outside.
What stands out about the new 5x optical zoom camera? iPhone 15 Pro Max:
Apple fooled everyone (again) and despite rumors iPhone 15 Pro The Max’s 5x optical zoom camera doesn’t seem to use the traditional periscope zoom design we’ve seen for years on phones like the Huawei P30 Pro (the first modern phone with a periscope zoom), the Galaxy S23 Ultra or the Pixel 7 Pro.
As it turns out, Apple has developed a unique looking “Tetraprism” mirror that (unlike a traditional periscope solution) appears to be much more compact and allows the camera to use a noticeably larger image sensor (25% larger than 3x the sensor of iPhone 15 Pro) and capture more light.
- The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom camera is the brightest 5x zoom camera on any phone (f/2.8), though not by a wide margin (Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s 5x periscope camera has f/3.0 aperture)
- Apple promises that long-range zoom cameras can be very shaky iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom shooter has “the most advanced stabilization yet”, where 3D OIS sensor shift and an autofocus module that moves in all three directions provide twice as many micro-adjustments as before. While the jargon Apple uses is a little unclear, this is the first time we’ve seen a sensor-shift OIS zoom camera that could actually help capture photos and videos with the 5x zoom camera on iPhone 15 Pro Max much easier
- It’s important to note that we’re still talking about a 12MP camera here, which means you can forget about any sensor cropping magic that will give you 10x lossless zoom photos like a 48MP camera with 5x zoom. Pixel 7 Pro; while this seems like a missed opportunity on Apple’s part, don’t be surprised if Cupertino saves this upgrade for the coming years (iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, etc.)
The larger aperture, larger sensor and overall better light-gathering capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom camera will likely help Apple’s flagship perform better than rival phones with 5x optical zoom — especially in low light. Apple will most likely take the 5x zoom crown in video as well, thanks to its historical lead in this department.
Despite iPhone 15 ‘Seven-lens camera system’, Pixel and Galaxy may still gain a zoom advantage: Did Apple miss a great opportunity to take on Samsung and Google, or is 5x zoom enough for most people?
On the other hand, as impressive as the technology behind the 5x zoom v iPhone 15 Pro Max It still appears to be “only” a 5x zoom camera. We’ve seen them for years (Huawei did it in 2019).
So it looks like Android flagships Pixel 7 Pro, the Pixel 8 Pro and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra may still be ahead of the iPhone this year when it comes to focal length choices without having to claim that their phones come with “seven cameras.” Not to mention Galaxy S23 Ultra it will almost certainly remain the king of the long-range zoom thanks to the impressive 10-20x zooms and videos it takes.
I’m surprised Apple didn’t use a 48MP sensor for the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom camera. This would allow the company to use its excellent sensor cropping magic to deliver lossless quality photos and videos with 10x zoom, a big challenge for Android.
