In an investor note published on Medium, analyst Ming-Chi Quo claims that at least the iPhone 17 Pro Max will see its “tetraprism” camera module upgraded from a 1/3.1″ 12MP CMOS sensor in the iPhone 16 Pro series to a 1/2.6″ 48MP sensor. The “tetraprism” name is what Apple is calling its 5x periscope camera module in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is expected to arrive on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max this year.
If this report is accurate, it would mean that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have three 48MP camera modules. The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are both rumored to feature 48MP ultra-wide-angle cameras, which will be carried over to the iPhone 17 series. The larger sensor, with four times the pixels, should offer big advantages in terms of zoomed-in image quality, in addition to the ability to create an even deeper 12MP image at 10x zoom using only the center pixels of the sensor.
Kuo says it’s unclear whether the new 48MP sensor (which requires a new prism among other tweaks) will be available on the smaller iPhone 17 Pro or just the Pro Max. If it’s a feature exclusive to the latter, it’ll likely be added to the iPhone 18 Pro next year.
The report claims that the entire periscope camera system is expected to undergo a more significant design update in 2027 for the iPhone 19 lineup to offer better optical zoom, but any prediction that far out should be considered preliminary and tentative at best.
