Apple Hopes To One-Up Samsung With The iPhone 15 Pro Max's Periscope Lens

We may be six months away from their launch, but we already have a fair idea of what to expect from Apple's next-gen iPhones. Thanks to a steady stream of iPhone 15-centric rumors, we have been led to believe that these devices are slated to receive several cosmetic and hardware updates this time around. One of the most talked-about changes to the next-gen iPhones is the likelihood of the Pro Max variant getting a periscope lens — a possibility first discussed by noted tech analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong Intl Tech Research back in January 2023. Today, another famous Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo endorsed Pu's views and claimed that Apple's flagship iPhone model would, indeed, feature a periscope lens.

In his most recent Medium blog post, Kuo claims that Apple has selected Taiwanese lensmaker Largan as the exclusive supplier of the iPhone 15 Pro Max's periscope lens. The rest of Kuo's post mostly discusses the financial aspects of Largan's lens business, which could witness a major downturn in the second quarter of 2023. This downturn is partly a direct result of Apple placing fewer than expected orders from Largan for the periscope lens.

Interestingly, the reasons for Apple's lower order figures remain a mystery for now and is definitely surprising given that its current generation flagships have posted excellent shipment figures despite initial hiccups. Apple's pessimism could also stem from the difficult macroeconomic scenario affecting a significant chunk of the global population, including Apple's vast customer base.

There is no denying that most reports centered around the iPhone 15 series fall into the category of unsubstantiated rumors. However, one of the major changes coming to the iPhone 15 series has already been confirmed by Apple. These devices will be the first ones from the company to feature a USB-C port, a change that Apple had to make to avoid legal complications in the EU.

Previously, we have also discussed the possibility of Apple making some changes to the physical aspects of the iPhone 15 series. These changes include the likelihood of Apple adopting a curved design for the device's edges, thereby making the handsets more comfortable in our palms. Apple is also working to make the bezels of the iPhone 15 lineup thinner than its existing devices. In addition, the presence of the periscope lens will almost certainly affect the design of the iPhone 15 Pro Max's camera island, which is expected to grow in size. It is also given that the periscope lens would help Apple compete against Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra, which features a very good telephoto camera.

We also expect the Pro-level iPhone 15 models to use Apple's next-generation A17 Bionic chipset, which is likely to be based on TSMC's latest 3nm manufacturing process. It would be interesting to see whether Apple continues with its new-found strategy of using older chipsets on its lower-priced models, which would mean that the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus could use the existing A16 processors.