Apple might not make meaningful camera hardware improvements to its Pro iPhones this year. The iPhone 17 Pro will supposedly stick to the same 48MP primary shooter as the current flagship iPhone.
The only notable camera improvement on this year’s iPhone would be the switch to a 48MP sensor for the 5x tetraprism shooter.
iPhone 17 Pro’s 5x zoom camera may get a 48MP upgrade
The iPhone 16 Pro series packs two 48MP cameras and one 12MP 5x shooter. The primary and Ultra Wide cameras use pixel binning and Fusion processing to capture detailed 24MP pictures. With the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro, Apple will switch to a triple-48MP rear camera setup.
As part of this, it will ditch the iPhone 16 Pro’s 12MP 5x tetraprism shooter in favor of a 48MP sensor. The sensor’s focal length will seemingly remain unchanged, offering a 5x zoom. Still, the higher resolution should lead to a noticeable increase in image quality, including at 10x and higher zoom levels.
Apparently, the upgraded 48MP tetraprism will debut on both iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. Some rumors previously claimed it could be limited to the Pro Max only.
For the main 48MP and 5x telephoto cameras, Apple will seemingly also switch to a glass plastic lens. This may help improve the light transmission and overall image sharpness.
A resolution upgrade for the front camera, too
Additionally, leaker Digital Chat Station claims the iPhone 17 Pro’s front TrueDepth camera will get an upgrade to 24MP. This should enable it to capture more detailed and sharper selfies. Multiple reports in the past have also indicated the iPhone 17’s front camera could get a big upgrade.
The combination of higher-resolution sensors and enhanced image processing should allow the iPhone 17 Pro lineup to capture significantly better photos than its predecessor.
If you were hoping for even bigger camera upgrades, you might want to wait until the iPhone 18 Pro, as it may come with a variable aperture lens.
