Mobile photography has come a long way since the first iPhone was released in 2007, and camera tech is now one of the most competitive areas in the battle between smartphone brands. But if new leaks are to be believed, iPhone photography could soon see yet another dramatic improvement.
The iPhone 11 is already one of our best camera phones, but it could pale in comparison to what Apple apparently has up its sleeve. According to established analyst Ming Chi Kuo, the company is planning to add a periscope lens to future iPhone – which could mean zoom capabilities of up to 50x.
The iPhone 11's camera setup is already impressive (Image credit: Apple)
As reported by MacRumors, Kuo says Apple will be switching to South Korean lens-maker Semco for the new periscope lenses. As the name suggests, this impressive camera tech uses mirrors to achieve a much higher optical zoom in a tiny package.
Periscope lenses have already made their way into a few smartphones – Huawei's P40 Pro Plus (below) uses the tech to achieve an incredible 10x optical zoom without loss of quality and, when combined with digital zoom, can hit 50x.
The Huawei P40 Pro Plus features a periscope lens (Image credit: Huawei)
For creatives who prefer the Apple ecosystem, the company's move towards periscope lenses is great news. The Huawei P40 Pro Plus is currently our best camera phone, but these leaks suggest Apple could be about to close the gap. It seems we're edging closer to a world where your smartphone is the only camera you'll need (but our best cameras list is certainly safe for now).
And now for the bad news: Kuo says the tech won't be hitting the iPhone until 2022. That means it certainly won't be found inside the iPhone 12 (although rumours suggest it'll still be getting some tidy camera upgrades). If you can't wait to get hold of a periscope lens, zoom over to today's best Huawei P40 Pro deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
