iPhone 16 Pro series is equipped with a quadruple-reflective prism camera: supplied by Crystal Optech

 analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote that starting with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple has adopted a quadruple-reflection prism (periscope) camera and has planned an upgrade route for the next few years. Crystal Optech, the first prism supplier, is one of the leading beneficiaries in the relevant supply chain.

Guo Mingchi revealed that in the second half of 2024, both the Pro and Pro Max models of the iPhone 16 series will use a quad-reflective prism camera with the same specifications as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Next year’s iPhone 17 Pro Max will be upgraded with a new quadruple-reflective prism camera, from a 12-megapixel 1/3.1-inch periscope to a 48-megapixel 1/2.6-inch periscope.

The iPhone 19 series will be upgraded again. The number of prisms on the iPhone will increase, thereby lengthening the propagation path of light and obtaining a higher-magnification optical zoom. At that time, Apple may not call it a quadruple reflection prism camera.

It is reported that compared with the traditional periscope structure, Apple’s quadruple reflection prism camera can greatly reduce the prism size and lens group aperture. From this point of view, under the condition of the same lens group size, the quadruple reflection prism camera can more easily achieve a larger aperture, which is more in line with the needs of shooting in low-light environments.