200MP Telephoto iPhone Lens Unlikely to Arrive Before 2028

As someone who previously owned an iPhone 14 Pro Max which has a 48MP main camera, and someone who still uses a Nikon DSLR camera with 24MP sensor, a pixel binned 12MP for a smartphone is already enough. I don't believe that smartphones will ever have a sensor as close to the size of a full frame, let alone APS-C, so even if they reach gigapixels, smartphones will never be able to reach or match the quality of a photo taken by a dedicated camera.

As someone who previously owned an iPhone 14 Pro Max which has a 48MP main camera, and someone who still uses a Nikon DSLR camera with 24MP sensor, a pixel binned 12MP for a smartphone is already enough. I don't believe that smartphones will ever have a sensor as close to the size of a full frame, let alone APS-C, so even if they reach gigapixels, smartphones will never be able to reach or match the quality of a photo taken by a dedicated camera.

The last few PM phones I've had take excellent snapshots. Better than any I took with a handheld camera.

I totally agree with you. A dedicated camera will always take better pictures than any smart phone. That's the nature of technology. Back in the day (I'm dating myself, so hang on to your hats) my mom carried a Canon AE1-program with a bag of lenses with her pretty regularly. She loved taking the best quality pictures she could. I had a little Kodak camera that while it used 35mm film, it obviously never took pictures like the Canon she had.

Dedicated technology for any application will always out perform a "compromise". A smart phone camera is a compromise. Less of a compromise than it used to be, but still a compromise.

Last time I went on vacation only camera I took was my iPhone PM 15. It took AWESOME pictures, especially for what it was. Something I could slide into my pocket, use at a moments notice and not worry about.

I take my phone all kinds of places I would never lug a DSLR. Like most people, I take my phone everywhere I go. Now, I am definitely a "amateur" photographer. I don't know all that much about focal length and aperture, etc. But in my experience there's more to taking great pictures in the field than having the best hardware.

Patience, perspective, the ability to read people. Being able to be in the moment. Looking at something and realizing this may make a great photo. Those skills are important too. Depending of course on why you're taking pictures in the first place.

Camera phones today are light years ahead of what regular non photographer folks used to be willing to carry around. And not having to worry about burning film? Awesome. Mom would have loved the digital phtography age, but she never got to see it.

I still have her old AE1 in the house somewhere. And a few lenses for it.

The author seems to be confused about the 200MP debacle. I follow leaks & rumors very closely and use multiple AI chatbots to translate Chinese text to ensure accuracy. Here's what's going on:

- The previous iPhone-related 200MP camera rumors were related to the Main Camera. That's what BOTH Morgan Stanley and this leaker, Digital Chat Station, were referring to when they said Apple was testing a 200MP module. DCS even provided further details about the sensor size, saying Apple was testing that module with a 1/1.12" sensor. Morgan Stanley said the ETA is 2028, but Digital Chat Station said it could arrive as early as 2027. All of that remains unchanged by today's rumor.

- Today's rumor from DCS is completely new and unrelated to the previous 200MP Main Camera rumor. Today's rumor is regarding the periscope/telephoto lens, which means Apple appears to be testing/considering 200MP for BOTH the Main & Telephoto cameras.

Mac Rumors Editorial Staff - Please feel free to double-check what I said above and edit this article accordingly. Thank you.

The increased megapixel count would also result in higher-resolution photos, which can be cropped further and printed at larger sizes without a loss of image quality.

My 24MP mirrorless camera is dying from laughter. At 48 MP, you’re already well into the diminishing returns, anything over that is just masturbation. I have lenses that cost more than an iPhone that can’t optically saturate a 24MP sensor (i.e. the actual optics aren’t good enough).

Who cares, they should focus on having as big as possible sensors, I have an ancient point and shot with just 2MP and in the right conditions photos still look more real than iPhones. Also my 16 Pro makes somehow worse photos than my 13 Pro Max did.

I agree. The visual quality from a tiny phone sensor can’t compare to the visual quality from a full frame slr.
They're fine for social media use to record a moment, and be viewed on other devices, but nothing more demanding.

Yep I agree with both of you. My 24mp Nikon apsc from 2012 produces better images than my 17 Pro. More megapixels does not mean better image quality. The quality of the pixels matters too.

I think that’s why full manual mode in 3rd party apps is restricted to 12mp by Apple. Each pixel should theoretically gather more information because it’s bigger.

My theory is that they don’t want you to have control over the 24 and 48 modes because of the quality drop off and not being able to control the image quality/processing.