Apple’s iPhones will adopt a ‘periscope telephoto lens’ in 2023, according to a research note shared tonight by renowned TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
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Kuo has not expanded, but we’ve heard several rumors about Apple’s work on a periscope lens, which allows for significant improvements in optical zoom capabilities. Kuo said earlier that he expects Apple to adopt a periscope lens in 2022 iPhone models, but it appears he now believes this will only happen in 2023.
Existing smartphones have already used periscope lens technology. Huawei’s P30 Pro allows for 5x optical zoom, and an ‘iPhone’ with a periscope lens can have similar capabilities. Current iPhones achieve a maximum of 2.5x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom, but better zoom capabilities can allow Apple’s iPhones to compete with smartphones that focus on zoom functionality. Samsung’s latest smartphones, for example, have a 100x zoom feature that Apple’s current iPhones cannot match.
In addition to the forecast for periscope lens technology coming in 2023, Kuo shared details on both the 2021 and 2022 iPhones.
For the 2021 iPhones, Kuo believes Apple will adopt a new Face ID transmitter made of a plastic material instead of glass, which is now possible thanks to improved coating technologies. It’s not clear if that will be to the end user’s advantage for iPhone owners or if it will simply mean a reduction in production costs for Apple.
In the past, it was widely believed that the reason why the Tx lens had to use glass material was to avoid distortion due to the heat generated by VCSEL. Our latest survey indicated that the Face ID TX lens for the new 2H21 iPhone will be made of plastic instead of glass, thanks to improved coating technologies and that the Tx plastic lens suppliers are Largan and Genius, with Largan the primary beneficiary of this material . changed due to its higher offering share.
High-end iPhones to be released in 2021 also feature an upgraded tele-lens, with Apple upgrading from a 5-element lens to a 6-element lens, which Kuo says is made possible by ‘design and manufacturing advantages’.
Kuo said the upcoming camera enhancements in 2022 will focus on high-end iPhones on the tele-lens, and Apple will upgrade from the 6-element lens to a 7-element lens for the iPhone 14.
It is expected that the iPhone models coming in 2022 will also adopt a new “unibody lens design”, which according to Kuo will use Apple to reduce the size of the front camera module.
To reduce the size of the front camera module, we predict that the new iPhone will use a unibody lens design early in 2H22. This design requires the lens and VCM [voice coil motor] must be compiled before being sent to CCM. As Largan launches 2iPhone VCM for new iPhones in 2H21, we believe that if Apple adopts the unibody lens design in the future, Largan, a new VCM provider, will be able to integrate the production benefits of lens design and benefit from this new tendency.
Kuo said earlier that he believes the 2022 ‘iPhone’ models will transition from a notch to a hole exhibit that some Android smartphones have previously adopted. Apple is expected to use this design for high-end iPhones coming in 2022, but if production yields are high enough, all 2022 iPhones could use the same hole design.