The leaker claims that the iPhone 17 Pro will flaunt a new telephoto lens with up to 8x optical zoom, up from 5x on the iPhone 16 Pro. The lens will apparently have a moving element, which will allow for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths.
The tipster also says that the iPhone 17 Pro will come with an all-new pro camera app for both images and videos. It will rival the likes of Halide, Kino, and Filmic Pro, all of which offer a professional experience. There’s also a chance that Apple will overhaul its Final Cut Camera app instead of building a new app.
It’s not known whether the new (or updated) app is going to be exclusive to the Pro models.
Lastly, they also assert that the iPhone 17 Pro will have another Camera Control button on the top edge to make it easier for users to access the camera.
The leaker also corroborated some earlier rumors, such as a new copper-ish shade for the iPhone 17 Pro and a repositioned Apple logo.
The iPhone 17 Pro is rumored to have a horizontal camera bar, and a 48MP sensor is expected to replace the 12MP telephoto camera, making for a triple 48MP camera array. Earlier rumors have also pointed to video shooting upgrades such as the ability to use both the front and back cameras at the same time for recording clips.
Thus, it does seem plausible that Apple will double down on the camera-centric changes by introducing a higher-zoom range. This could also help it win over Samsung users who don’t find a 5x telephoto camera good enough for far-away subjects. Since it will be a moving lens, users probably won’t miss out on a lower zoom level as the device should be able to optically handle two zoom ranges. This is a trick that Sony’s top smartphones also employ.
Not only will Apple be going after standalone camera users with this move, but it will also be courting Samsung and Sony users by launching the feature.
