All Three Cameras May Go to 48MP on the iPhone 17 Pro

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After years of 12-megapixel shooters, Apple has been upping its iPhone camera specs over the past few years. If the rumors are true, next year’s iPhone 17 Pro may complete the cycle by eliminating the last 12 MP camera from the mix.
Before the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro lineup introduced the first 48 MP upgrade, the last time we saw a bump in megapixels on an iPhone camera was in 2015 when the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus made the move from 8MP to 12MP.
Of course, we got plenty of other camera improvements in the intervening years, but they all remained fixed at 12MP, arguably proving that it’s not the number of pixels that counts but rather what the rest of the camera hardware and software can do with them.
Nevertheless, the 48MP bump on the iPhone 14 Pro was a welcome change, but it was also more about capturing more data for Apple’s computational photography engine than capturing higher-resolution pictures. The iPhone 14 Pro still defaulted to 12MP images unless you manually changed it, but the extra millions of pixels allowed for two other important tricks: capturing more light and adding a virtual 2X zoom that effectively gave the iPhone 14 Pro a fourth lens.
Then, Apple surprised us last year when it brought that same 48MP sensor to the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max got a higher-quality sensor but retained the same 48MP resolution.

Throughout all this, only the primary camera was upgraded; the Ultrawide and Telephoto lenses remained at 12MP.
If rumors are true, that will change with this year’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which are expected to take the Ultrawide to 48MP. However, while the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to gain the 5X Tetraprism lens from its larger sibling, both the Pro and Pro Max models will keep a 12MP sensor behind that.

However, that may change next year if a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is accurate. In a new post on Medium, Kuo reiterates his long-standing prediction of the 5X Tetraprism lens on the smaller iPhone 16 Pro, suggesting that it will result in a 160% increase in related component shipments due to both models having the newer lens technology.
Kuo also lays out Apple’s camera plans for the iPhone 17 Pro and beyond. The most interesting part is that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will get a 48MP sensor behind the Tetraprism lens.
The high-end iPhone 17 model is expected to feature an upgraded tetraprism camera, with key specification changes from a 1/3.1″ 12MP CIS in the iPhone 16 Pro series to a 1/2.6″ 48MP CIS. This upgrade will enhance photo quality and zoom functionality.Ming-Chi Kuo
Kuo is obviously talking about the Telephoto camera, which means if this year’s reports of a 48MP Ultrawide camera are true, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have all three lenses backed by 48MP sensors.
It’s too early to tell if this will be exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Kuo adds since the new sensor will also require new prisms for the lens. Kuo suggests that Apple could follow the iPhone 15–16 strategy and make this a Max-exclusive upgrade next year before bringing it to both iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026.
While 5X will be the standard optical zoom for the next two years, Kuo suggests the 2027 iPhone 19 Pro could bring another boost to the range:
The tetraprism camera will undergo another significant specification upgrade in the new iPhone models of 2027, with a more substantial improvement than those in the iPhone 17 and iPhone 18. The 2H27 new iPhone is expected to support a better optical zoom.Ming-Chi Kuo
It’s not entirely clear how Apple plans to do this. Still, Kuo suggests that it may no longer technically be a “Tetraprism” lens because the most likely method is for Apple to increase the number of prisms to add additional magnification.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]