Over the years, Apple has minimized the gap between its Pro and Pro Max models, with the latter featuring the most minor of changes. However, with the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is reportedly switching things up by addition a unique feature in the camera department that won't be available on the regular iPhone 17 Pro model.
According to leaker Instant Digital, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is going to become Apple's "most powerful telephoto smartphone" as it's expected to equip a moving lens system that could achieve 8x optical zoom. That's a substantial improvement from the iPhone 16 Pro Max's fixed telephoto lens that could only do 5x optical zoom.
With the addition of a moving lens, the telephoto camera on this year's Pro Max could also support switching between multiple focal lengths. At the same time, the sensors will be able to preserve the resolution, even at the maximum optical magnification. This camera setup could also be a reason for a larger camera bump on the iPhone 17 Pro models.
If this piece of information is indeed true, then the regular iPhone 17 Pro may feature a similar fixed telephoto lens like the iPhone 16 Pro. But all's not gloomy on the non-Max side of the things, as even the smaller Pro model is expected to feature a 48 MP telephoto camera. It could be a significant upgrade over last year's 12 MP unit.
The presence of an upgraded telephoto camera could bring more value to the iPhone 17 Pro Max over the iPhone 17 Pro, which was not the case with its predecessor. That's because the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max featured the exact same camera setup.
The last time we witnessed feature disparity between the Pro and Pro Max models was in the iPhone 15 lineup, where the latter offered 5x optical zoom instead of 3x zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro version. With the launch event reportedly scheduled for September 9, 2025, we may learn more details about the iPhone 17 lineup and other upcoming products in the coming days.
