One of the best new features of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the tetra prism zoom, which provides the best 5x telephoto zoom on the iPhone. Unfortunately, this lens module is exclusive to the Pro Max and was rumored to be too large for the iPhone 15 Pro. However, this may not be the case with the iPhone 16 Pro lineup.

The iPhone 16 Pro is rumored to be slightly larger, at 6.3 inches. While not a huge increase, it is said that this may be enough to make room for a tetraprism lens on the smaller Pro model. Currently, there are reports from the supply chain that seem to support this.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, tetraprism lens supplier Largan has increased production from 40% to 70%.Apple is having problems sourcing enough tetraprism lenses for the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the prospect of a postponement has been brought up several times.

So even if Apple had been able to find space to add a new telephoto shooter to the iPhone 15 Pro, it may have had to abandon the idea due to a lack of sufficient physical tetraprism modules. In any case, Apple has not confirmed the reason for making the improved telephoto lens exclusive to the Pro Max and is unlikely to do so in the future.

Thus, no matter what happens with the iPhone 16 Pro, increased production is only good news. More lenses means that the rumors are true and Apple is more likely to add tetra prism lenses to next year's phones. And better yields mean that there are less likely to be reports of possible delays thanks to this one component.

Mr. Kuo makes no mention of a possible upgrade of the tetraprism lens. In fact, his report suggests that this yield improvement relates to the same 5x lens already available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

So far, we have heard that the 2024 iPhone Pros will have the same 5x zoom as the iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, we have also heard rumors that Apple may be partnering with a new lens supplier that can provide a thinner and lighter lens with a more powerful magnification.

Given that Kuo claims that last minute changes are the cause of low production yields, it is likely that Apple will finalize these specifications fairly soon to avoid the same mistakes. Until then, we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but be sure to check our iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro hub for all the latest news and rumors.