Gordon Kelly
Senior ContributorOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
I write about technology’s biggest companies
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iPhone 15 Pro Max renders based on multiple leaks
@HansTSaiz
Legally, Apple’s most contentious iPhone 15 upgrade is likely to be its locked-down implementation of USB-C. But for iPhone fans, a new leak has all but confirmed the biggest shock on their release will be the cameras.
Respected leaker Unknownz21 states they have: “Finally received independent confirmation of this: Periscope lens will be available exclusively on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.”
This rumor has been circulated for months, but few took it seriously, given it would frustrate iPhone buyers to see the feature set of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max split for the first time. Aside from battery life, the Pro and Pro Max have always been on par, with the purchase decision typically made based on size preference.
That now looks set to change with the iPhone 15 lineup, and fans of smaller phones will either be forced to miss out on the very best features or buy a smartphone far bigger than they would like.
9to5Mac
On the plus side (pun unintended), a periscope camera has been an increasingly obvious omission from the iPhone lineup, and the Pro Max will address this. Rivals, most notably the Galaxy S23 Ultra, have gone big on a combination of periscope lenses and digital zoom, with Samsung’s flagship able to produce up to 100x of zoom with increasingly solid results.
In Apple’s defense, rivals are typically limiting their periscope lenses to their biggest phones. Why? Most likely, it is a space issue, and while Apple has consistently overcome space limitations with the iPhone Pro in terms of thermal performance and battery life, it may simply be that the iPhone 15 Pro cannot physically squeeze in the new periscope lens. Consequently, 2023 looks set to be the year that iPhone buyers will have to go big if they want all the best features.
Moreover, sales of the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 13 Mini showed that support for the smaller smartphones was vociferous but not on the scale many assumed, so it may not be Apple’s hardest sell. Especially for those also tempted by the Pros’ super slim bezels, next-gen A17 chip and shift to USB-C.
That said, with iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max prices both expected to rise, expect howls of derision from commentators if the Pro Max does indeed break feature parity after so many years and ‘iPhone 15 Pro-ish’ memes to explode.
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I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes. I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering consumer technology as the iPod began to take off.
A career highlight for me was being a founding member of TrustedReviews. It started in 2003 and we were repeatedly told websites could not compete with print! Within four years we were purchased by IPC Media (Time Warner’s publishing division) to become its flagship tech title.
What fascinates me are the machinations of technology’s biggest companies. Got a pitch, tip or leak? Contact me on my professional Facebook page. I don’t bite.
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