Apple is expected to introduce a new periscope zoom lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max later this year. As a result, the internal position of the camera array is expected to be shuffled to accommodate the periscope lens, according to Twitter user @URedditor.

In a tweet, the leaker explains that Apple will swap the positions of the Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. On the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the Telephoto camera is the topmost lens next to the flash in the three-camera array, whereas the Ultra Wide lens is placed between the flash and LiDAR scanner modules.

Apple will supposedly switch the positions of the Telephoto and Ultra Wide cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as the periscope lens requires as much horizontal space as possible across the device’s width to operate. The needed width will thus be provided by moving the camera from its old topmost position so that it’s no longer interrupted by the flash. Periscope lens use a prism to refract light by 90 degrees onto the camera sensor, enabling improved optical zoom. 

The periscope lens is expected to offer 6x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, an increase from the 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The smaller iPhone 15 Pro is not expected to feature the periscope lens, according to the leaker and reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The main camera placement, which sits next to the LiDAR scanner, is not expected to change on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

In related news, Apple and its suppliers are reportedly ready to ramp up production for its upcoming iPhone 15 lineup. Display panels for the base iPhone 15 are expected to start production in June, according to display analyst Ross Young in a tweet seen by Supercharged. Young also expects Apple to begin producing the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro ahead of the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max, stating that the 6.1-inch phones are “expected to have an early lead in volume.”

Rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature significantly thinner bezels, potentially featuring the thinnest bezels on any smartphone. The iPhone 15 lineup is expected to be announced this fall in September. Apple is expected to expand Dynamic Island, first introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro last year, to all models of the 2023 iPhone lineup. The company is also rumored to replace Lightning with USB-C across the entire lineup and expand the 48MP camera sensor to the base iPhone 15 models.