Has Apple reduced your phone camera with iPhone 17 Pro? That’s what you need to know

When you buy through our articles links, Future and its syndication partners can earn commissions.

Credit: Thomas Guide

One of the big updates announced by Apple at its AWE Discging event on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max was a new Pro model phone camera. On paper, the 48MP synthesis camera with a 4x scaling seems much more threatening than the 12MP camera found in previous Apple supervisors. Like last year’s models, the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max have the same identical cameras.

However, the one gradually gone under the radar includes the replacement range of this new telephone camera. According to Apple, the iPhone 17 Pro offers telephone lenses for both 4x and 8x scaling. These statements are accurate, but it contains more. The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max offered a 5x optical scaling replacement with their telephone cameras, so what’s going on?

You may think that Apple has “reduced” the iPhone 17 telephone camera, but it may depend on what you are asking. Other companies made similar movements, such as the Galaxy S23 Ultra had telephone shooters with 10x optical scale, only to see it “humiliated” to 5x optical scaling with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. I will break down detailed information about the iPhone 17 Pros 48MP telephoto lens cameras, so you understand exactly how this new lens is compared to the previous one.

IPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max: Camera Specifications

IPhone 17 Pro & 17 Pro Max

IPhone 16 Pro & 16 Pro Max

The main camera

48MP (f/1.78)

48MP (f/1.78)

Ultravid

48MP (f/2.2)

48MP (f/2.2)

Telephoto

48MP (f/2.8)

12MP (f/2.8)

Optical scaling options

0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x

0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x

Digital scaling

40x

25x

Selfie

18MP (f/1.9)

12MP (f/1.9)

Before immersing whether this 48MP telephone is a humiliation of the benefits of the iPhone 17, it is first worth looking at the specifications of the phone camera. As you can see above, there are two main differences this year with iPhone 17 Pro cameras: 48MP telephone and 18MP Selfie cameras.

As a result of this new telephone lens, Apple says you are getting five optical scaling options using iPhone 17 – 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x. This is more than what the iPhone 16 professionals have given you. Another important thing to look out for is how the diaphragm values ​​(F-STOPS) with each camera are identical last year, so the only significant difference should appear here from that new 48MP telephone camera.

Optical and optical quality performance

The iPhone 17 Pro, held in hand, is used to take pictures.

Credit: Thomas Guide

I have seen many other phones with a scaling level exceeding their true optical scale change. However, this discussion on optical and optical quality performance has been held in recent years. Apple is unfamiliar with the use of this terminology because it mentioned the iPhone 15 to “three levels of optical quality scaling” despite the fact that he does not have a special telephoto lens.

To make the iPhone 15 (and iPhone 16) reach their 2x optical quality zoom, they are based on fixation with 48MP Mcent, but 24MP, excluding fixation to the middle of the sensor. And since the iPhone 15 naturally captures photos of 24MPs out of the box, it is not wrong that Apple says it has an “optical quality” 2x scaling area.

It is basically the same assumption with the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. Apple goes on to say that “new 4x optical scales change 100mm is a classic lens for portraits, and 8x optical scaling – 200 mm, the longest iPhone, provides a longer accessibility and more creative choice.”

By default, the advantages of the iPhone 17 are to set up 24MPs within 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 4x. However, with 8x scaling and outside, the resolution is reduced to 12MP. But don’t think it’s humiliation for a moment, because you have to remember the camera sensor you play here.

IPhone 17 Pro camera still reflects detailed information

Holds the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Credit: Thomas Guide

When switching to 4x optical scales with iPhone 17 Pros, Apple gives us a classic compromise between the camera sensor resolution and optical increase. Yes, the iPhone 17 Pro 4x optical scaling is less than the 5x optical scaling replacement using the iPhone 16 Pro, but this new 48MP telephone still reflects more information.

Just keep in mind that the iPhone 17 Pro uses the full 48MP camera sensor to capture the photos in a 4x scaling. Obviously, you will get closer to the topic using the iPhone 16 Pro 5x optical scaling camera, but from the iPhone 17 Pro 48MP 4x Zoom you will get four times as much Pixel information. This means that you can digitally cut a 4x photo and will probably produce a more detailed image than a local 5x shot from a 12MP camera.

And how about 8x scaling, when assembly decreases to 12 megapixels with iPhone 17 Pro? Now it is interesting because it depends more on the calculation photography to achieve the “optical quality that Apple is known.” And no, it is not just a harvest. In fact, Apple Greg Joz Joz said in our interview that “it is an unpleasantness to call him a crop because it is more than that”.

In other words, you not only take a static photo, and then bring you closer to reach a specific level of scaling. Instead, magic is from the sensor cultivation technique that uses its native 4x optical telephoto lens to be physically closer to the topic. This is due to a 4x lens that designs the image on a 48MP sensor, which then distinguishes the central 12 -megapixel of the 48MP sensor to obtain that 8x optical quality scaling.

It is also worth emphasizing that you are now getting a maximum of 40x digital scaling with the benefits of the iPhone 17 compared to 25X with iPhone 16 supervisors. This is a big difference.

Improvements with updated photonic motor

The iPhone 17 Pro is held in hand with a screen on.

Credit: Thomas Guide

The new iPhone 17 Pro is also useful in the updated photo photography model for Apple’s Photon Phone Phone. This nourishes the photo processing that takes place in the background when you take pictures, so improvements such as reduced noise, more preserved details and better color accuracy.

I am convinced that the scale change performance will improve significantly with the iPhone 17 Pro, especially at the same scale level compared to the iPhone 16 Pro. Also, I look forward to trying the iPhone closer to other best camera phones such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 10 Pro XL. The latter’s camera phone uses generative AI to improve images of 10x scaling and beyond, so iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are cut to make Google enhance the scaling capabilities.

Follow Thomas manager at Google News and Add us as the desired source To get our latest news, analysis and reviews in your channels. Make sure click the track button!

More from Thomas Guide

Leave a Comment