Tetraprism Telephoto Lens to be Available on Both iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max

Recently, MacRumors has received information indicating that Apple intends to implement the tetraprism telephoto lens on both iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max in 2024.

iPhone 16 Pro Mock Header Updated

Our findings align with claims made by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo back in September, which were recently reiterated. The Elec also published a report earlier this month which makes the same claim about tetraprism availability, albeit with more details.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a tetraprism telephoto camera. The folded glass structure within it uses a tetraprism design which repeatedly reflects light, allowing for up to 5x optical zoom, up from 3x on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

This year, the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro was released without the new-and-improved tetraprism telephoto camera, likely due to spatial constraints. The components necessary for the tetraprism camera occupy significantly more space than the telephoto camera currently found on the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, and consequently would not fit in the smaller 6.1” device.

With the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌, Apple intends to increase the overall size of the devices, with the displays of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max measuring roughly 6.3" and 6.9", respectively. The increased device sizes would provide ample room for the new tetraprism telephoto camera, and internal documentation seen by MacRumors corroborates this change.

Internal documentation detailing the camera module design for the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ reveals that the module bears significant resemblance to the module used in the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max. At a glance, the area containing the tetraprism components can be easily identified.

It is important to consider that the information provided here constitutes pre-production information and may not reflect the hardware found on final mass production units. The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ is still many months away and changes are always possible.

For more details on what to expect, check out our rumor roundup page for the iPhone 16 Pro.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16 Pro

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple One Apps Feature 2

Apple One's Best Plan Now Includes Two More Perks For Free

Monday March 10, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Over the last month, the highest-end ‌Apple One‌ Premier plan has gained two additional perks. Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade Apple News+ Apple Fitness+...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Monday March 10, 2025 4:41 am PDT by
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.2 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday March 10, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two. iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features. iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.2 With Bug Fixes

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:33 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.2 and iOS 18.3.2 come a month after Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...

Top Rated Comments

McWetty Avatar
16 months ago
Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
16 months ago

Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Here it is.



It’s so mini you can wear it on your wrist.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
16 months ago
Can I pre-order yet? Want best camera, but can't deal with a Max. Skipped this year.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
16 months ago
I’m glad that Apple might be making the new tetraprism telephoto lens available on both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead of what Apple did this year in only making the better camera available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max

I much prefer the smaller sized screen over the max version so I’m glad that there’s a possibility that the only differentiating factor in the iPhone 16 Pro model phones will be the screen size and not the camera features
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
16 months ago
I hope this pans out. I've had a large iPhone since the iPhone 6 Plus and I'm kind of done with large iPhones. As a photographer, I do want a proper telephoto so being able to choose the smaller iPhone is going to be great.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
16 months ago

I am not keeping my hope up on these lenses offering better image quality than this years iPhone, especially if 90% of the final photo is the result of heavy post-processing.
I would say 90% of what makes a compelling photograph comes from the photographer and his/her ability to see, compose, evaluate the quality of light, recognize gesture, the potential of releasing narrative in a viewer's mind, and on and on.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)