iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Tipped to Debut With Upgraded Telephoto and Selfie Cameras

Apple's telephoto camera could be the last rear camera to be upgraded to a 48-megapixel sensor when the iPhone 17 Pro models arrive later this year.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 10 January 2025 20:49 IST

iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Tipped to Debut With Upgraded Telephoto and Selfie Cameras

iPhone 15 Pro Max (left) and iPhone 16 Pro Max are equipped with a 5x Tetraprism telephoto lens

Highlights

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max could feature a 48-megapixel telephoto camera
This year's Pro models might be equipped with an upgraded selfie camera
Apple has yet to announce any details of the purported iPhone 17 series

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could arrive with two camera upgrades, according to details shared by a tipster on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform. The company's successors to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are not expected to arrive until later this year, but details of the handsets have already been leaked over the past few months. This year, Apple is expected to introduce a redesigned rear camera island for the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a horizontal camera layout.

iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Camera Specifications (Leaked)

Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) writes in a post on Weibo that Apple will equip the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max with a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, which is an upgraded version of the 12-megapixel camera on the iPhone 16 Pro models.

Photo Credit: Weibo/ Digital Chat Station

The iPhone 17 Pro models will also be equipped with a 24-megapixel selfie camera, according to the tipster. It's worth noting that both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models feature a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera.

iPhone SE 4 Tipped to Arrive With OLED Display, A18 Chip, More

This is not the first time that information about Apple's upgraded iPhone 17 Pro camera specifications have leaked online. In January 2024, TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the iPhone 17 models would be equipped with a new 24-megapixel selfie camera.

Last November, a report suggested that Apple plans to keep its Tetraprism telephoto lens, which enables support for 5x optical zoom, exclusive to its Pro models. Previous reports had indicated that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air would be the first non-flagship models equipped with a telephoto camera.

Previous leaks have also hinted at the arrival of other upgrades on the iPhone 17 Pro models, including an under-display Face ID technology that could result in a smaller camera cutout. The iPhone 17 models might be equipped with Apple's A19 chip, along with 8GB of RAM, while the Pro models could feature an A19 Pro chips paired with 12GB of RAM.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

iPhone 16 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Apple A18 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1206x2622 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 16 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Massive screen size
Brilliant display
Performance beast
Camera Control is a boon
Fantastic battery life

Bad
Big phone for one-hand use
Expensive
No Apple Intelligence at launch
Slow-wired charging support

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review

Display 6.90-inch

Processor Apple A18 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1320x2868 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

Comments

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2025 hub.

Further reading: iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Specifications, Apple

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More