Kuo: 2023 mobile phones with a “periscopic” telephoto lens

Apple’s iPhones will adopt a “periscopic telephoto lens” in 2023, according to a research note shared this evening by respected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo didn’t elaborate on anything, but we’ve heard several previous rumors about Apple’s work on a slow periscope, which would allow for significant improvements in optical zoom capabilities. Kuo previously said he expected Apple to adopt a slow periscope on the 2022 iPhone models, but it looks like he now believes this won’t happen until 2023.

Existing smartphones have already adopted periscope lens technology. The Huawei P30 Pro allows a 5x optical zoom and an ‌iPhone‌ with a periscope lens could have similar functions. Current iPhones can get 2.5x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom, but better zoom capabilities can allow Apple iPhones to compete with smartphones that have focused on zoom functionality. Samsung’s latest smartphones, for example, have a 100x zoom feature that current Apple iPhones can’t match.

In addition to the prediction about periscopic lens technology coming in 2023, Kuo shared details about the 2021 and 2022 iPhones.

For the 2021 iPhones, Kuo believes that 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 unclear whether this will have end-user benefits for iPhone owners or whether it will simply mean a reduction in Apple’s production cost.

In the past, it was widely believed that the reason the Tx lens had to adopt glass material was to avoid distortion due to the heat generated by the VCSEL operation. Our latest survey indicates that the Face ID TX lens of the new iPhone 2H21 will be plastic instead of glass, thanks to improved coating technologies and that Tx plastic lens suppliers are Largan and Genius, with Largan being the main beneficiary. of this material change due to its higher supply share.

The high-end iPhones to be launched in 2021 will also feature an upgraded telephoto lens, and Apple will upgrade a 5-item lens to a 6-item one, which Kuo says is possible thanks to the “design and production benefits.”

Kuo said improvements to the rear-facing camera that would arrive in high-end iPhones in 2022 will focus on the telephoto lens, and Apple will move from a 6-element lens to a 7-element lens for the iPhone 14 .

The “iPhone” models that will arrive in 2022 are also expected to adopt a new “unibody lens design,” which Kuo says Apple will use 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 adopt at least a unibody lens design at 2H22. This design requires the lens and the VCM [voice coil motor] to mount before sending to CCM. Since Largan will begin shipping ‌iPhone‌ VCM for new iPhones in 2H21, we believe that if Apple adopts unibody lens design in the future, Largan, a new VCM vendor, can integrate the production advantages of lens design and benefit from this new trend.

Kuo previously said he believes the 2022 iPhone 20 models will move from a style screen to a punch that some Android smartphones have previously adopted. Apple is expected to use this design for the high-end iPhones that will arrive in 2022, but if production yields are high enough, all 2022 iPhones could use the same punching design.