Rumors about the iPhone 15 Pro Max's new periscope lens have been piling up this year, so there's a good chance that Apple's next-gen flagship phone will sport the new camera that will reportedly allow up to 6x optical zoom (up from 3x).
With this new lens, however, Apple will reportedly have to rearrange the camera layout. According to Apple leaker @Unknownz21, the enhanced telephoto camera will swap places with the ultrawide shooter.
On a related note - the camera arrangement has changed, compared to the 14 Pro / Pro Max.The Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras have swapped positions - so the camera between the flash and LiDAR sensor is the one with periscope lens on the 15 Pro Max (regular telephoto on 15 Pro) https://t.co/J0QYdPsNH7May 16, 2023
The iPhone 15 Pro Max's camera layout
According to @Unknownz21, if you were to compare the iPhone 15 Pro Max's new rear camera module with the iPhone 14 Pro Max's lens layout, you wouldn't notice a difference.
However, under the hood, there are some changes. The telephoto camera (now rumored to be replaced with a periscope zoom lens), typically sitting on top of the main camera, is moving to the area between the LiDAR scanner and flash. The ultrawide camera will take its former place.
As such, the new rumored layout for the iPhone 15 Pro Max is that the periscope lens will be stacked on top of the main camera. The third outstanding camera will be the ultrawide lens. However, as mentioned, the triple-camera design looks the same to the naked eye.
As Apple Insider pointed out, @Unknownz21 has an accurate track record with Apple leaks. For example, they secured an early copy of the iOS 14 code and unveiled the "Gobi" AR codes, which later became scannable App Clips. However, they don't have a long, established tipster history, so keep your grain of salt tightly in your hand.
For more juicy gossip, check out our oft-updated iPhone 15 rumor hub.
