iPhone 17 Pro could get unexpectedly huge camera upgrades

By Nadeem Sarwar Published July 27, 2025

Over the past few months, leaks showing a redesigned iPhone 17 Pro pair and an uber-slim iPhone 17 Air have occupied social media. But it seems the upcoming Apple flagships will serve a few other niceties that will appeal to camera fans. 

According to a Macrumors report, which cites an unnamed source, the iPhone 17 Pro will come with an upgraded 8x optical zoom camera. For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro pair is limited to 5x optical zoom output. 

Looking over at the competition, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro peak at 5x optical zoom output. Stepping into the hypercompetitive Asian markets, Oppo’s Find X8 Ultra goes up to 6x optical zoom, and the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra reaches the 9.4x optical zoom figure.

“The lens can apparently move, allowing for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths,” adds the report. To recall, all the leaks point at a massive camera bump at the back of the iPhone 17 Pro, so it’s plausible that Apple is indeed eyeing a major upgrade for the imaging hardware. 

Assuming the rumor turns out to be true, the iPhone 17 Pro will emerge as one of the best smartphones out there for long-range photo and video capture, at least going by the on-paper hardware. Whether Apple upgrades the tetraprism design for the next-gen telephoto camera system remains a mystery. 

Older leaks are also predicting a triple 48-megapixel camera layout for the iPhone 17 Pro, with support for 8K video capture in tow. We are also hearing some chatter about a mechanical aperture feature that will offer users more granular control over photo capture. 

The camera app will reportedly allow simultaneous capture by the front and rear snappers, a solution that is tailor-made for vlogging. This facility, however, isn’t exactly a groundbreaking innovation, as the likes of Samsung have offered it for years on the Galaxy smartphones.

The latest Apple leak also claims that Apple will release a new camera app with the iPhone 17 Pro, one that will focus on Pro-grade features and deeper controls. So far, the likes of Halide and Kino have remained a favorite in the “mobigrapher” community, so it would be interesting to see what Apple has to offer in terms of standout capabilities.