Apple's 2023 iPhones could use Apple's first periscope camera, says analyst

iPhone cameras (Image credit: Rene Ritchie)

What you need to know

Apple could still ship a periscope lens in a 2023 iPhone according to one analyst.
Despite initial thoughts that a periscope lens could make it into an iPhone 14 device, that now seems unlikely.
A periscope lens would allow for a 5x optical zoom and beyond.

While it looks increasingly likely that Apple's iPhone 14 won't benefit from a periscope camera, that doesn't mean that the 2023 iPhones won't. That's according to a research note by Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities.

In that research note, seen by 9to5Mac, Pu notes that there is still a chance that Apple's 2023 iPhones will gain a periscope lens to allow the addition of a 5x optical zoom. The move would surely only happen on the higher-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro models, however.

There was originally talk that it could happen as soon as the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup but it now seems increasingly likely that iPhone 15 Pro devices will be the first to benefit from light-bending technology.

9to5Mac reports:

Going forward into the 2023 lineup, Jeff Pu says there's still a high chance that Apple will launch a periscope camera for the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max with 5x optical zoom. Previously, a report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple could launch this new camera design for the iPhone 14 models.

The use of a periscope lens would allow Apple to move the camera sensor and lens further apart, making for an improved level of optical zoom. That normally requires making an iPhone thicker, but by bouncing the light off a prism device makers can keep their handsets thin while still moving the sensor and lens further away from each other.

If the iPhone 15 lineup is indeed the first to use a periscope lens it will surely eclipse whatever the current best iPhone at the time is capable of. Even if that iPhone 14 Pro Max will already have been upgraded to a new 48-megapixel shooter.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.