All articles tagged with #telephoto
Bloomberg’s Gurman says the foldable iPhone will lack a telephoto camera, leaving only a main wide and ultrawide lens and making true optical zoom impossible; by contrast, iPhone 17 Pro/18 Pro Max rumors suggest 4x–6x optical zoom, so deep-zoom photography on the foldable would be disappointing.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple's foldable iPhone Ultra is winning early hands-on praise for its pocket-friendly size, sturdy hinge, and iPad-like UI on the large unfolded display, and even works as a camera viewfinder, but its lack of a telephoto lens may hurt sales. The Ultra is said to use a dual rear camera with a 48MP main sensor plus ultra-wide, relies on side-mounted Touch ID instead of in-display Face ID to keep thickness around 4.5mm unfolded, and is expected to feature a ~5.5-inch outer display and ~7.8-inch inner display. It is rumored to debut around Sept. 9 with the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max and could start around $2,000, climbing for higher storage.
Android Authority reports that the Pixel 11 Pro’s telephoto camera uses a larger 48‑MP sensor (1/1.95") that can focus on closer subjects than the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro, enabling a closer minimum focus distance and potentially better low-light performance; the change is corroborated by a Reddit user’s hands‑on comparison, but Google hasn’t commented yet.
Even with two 200 MP Hasselblad cameras and strong color/low-noise performance in good light, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra scores 170 on DxOMark and ranks third behind Huawei Pura 80 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra. The camera hardware is impressive, but issues persist: no variable aperture can misfocus background objects in portraits, AI sharpening can look artificial, noise reduction struggles with backlit scenes, white balance can skew warm in low light, and telephoto performance lags behind rivals despite 10x optical zoom.
Promo material confirms Xiaomi’s 17T and 17T Pro as Leica-branded telephoto flagships with a lower starting price than the 17. The 17T is tipped to use a Dimensity 8500 chip, 6,500mAh battery, 6.59” 120Hz display, and a 5x Leica Summilux telephoto (up to 120x digital zoom) under HyperOS with HyperAI; preorder bundles reportedly include Redmi Headphones Neo (17T) and headphones plus Smart Band 10 (17T Pro), with a global reveal on May 28 and leaked European pricing.
Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII rethinks its look with a square camera block and a much larger telephoto sensor, backed by an AI camera assistant, stronger speakers, and a top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage; it ships in Europe/Asia starting at £1,399, includes a 5,000mAh battery and 30W charging, but will not be released in North America and will receive four years of OS updates.
Nikon is developing the Nikkor Z 120-300mm f/2.8 TC VR S for its full-frame Z-mount, a high-end telephoto zoom with a built-in 1.4× teleconverter that extends its reach to 120–420mm. It’s positioned as a successor to the discontinued AF-S 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR and targets sports and other fast-action photography, but Nikon has not announced launch timing or pricing; a preview image hints at features like customizable controls and a rotatable tripod collar.
A leaked image allegedly shows Sony's new 100-400mm f/4.5 GM lens, slated to be announced with the A7VI in May. Rumors suggest an internal zoom length similar to the FE 200-600mm G and pricing near the FE 50-150mm F2 GM, with chatter about the A7rVI's 67MP sensor and new body.
Oppo has globally launched the Find X9 Ultra, a flagship camera phone co-developed with Hasselblad that packs a five-sensor system (200MP main, 200MP 3x tele, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP multispectral True Color, and 50MP 10x optical tele) with a Quintuple Prism periscope enabling 10x optical zoom (up to 20x with in-sensor cropping). It features a 6.82-inch 144Hz display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, a 7,050mAh battery with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, and advanced video options including 4K/60p Dolby Vision and 8K. Available May 8 in the UK, Europe, and most global markets outside North America, starting at £1,449 for 12GB+512GB, with an optional Hasselblad Earth Explorer Kit.
Canon announces the Cine-Servo 40-1200mm T5.0-10.8, a wider and longer successor to the 50-1000mm that preserves size and weight (6.6 kg, ~16 in). It adds a built-in 1.5x extender (1800mm in Super35 and full-frame coverage), switches to a native RF mount with Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, and supports faster zoom via a new USB-C Drive Unit. The lens zooms from 40mm to 1200mm (T5.0 until 560mm, then T10.8 at the end), and will ship in September for about $79,999, remaining compatible with existing rigs and workflows.
Oppo teases the Find X9 Ultra with upgrades across all cameras, including a rumored 200 MP main sensor and increased light intake on telephoto and ultra-wide lenses. A Hasselblad Earth Explorer Master Set is offered, and the phone is expected to launch April 21, setting up a high-stakes camera comparison with rivals.
Vivo unveiled the X300 Ultra at Mobile World Congress 2026, signaling a push into international markets with a flagship featuring a 200MP telephoto sensor and a pro-oriented ecosystem that includes a SmallRig camera cage and a 400mm Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra. The phone supports high-end video workflows (4K/120fps Dolby Vision, ACES) and an ecosystem that reads connected lenses, offering up to about 8x optical zoom with the extender and strong stabilization, though pricing and US availability were not announced.
Honor’s Magic 8 Pro adds a 200 MP telephoto with 3.7x zoom and a 50 MP main sensor to take on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the real-world sample gallery suggests the S25 Ultra still holds the edge in overall camera performance, especially with zoom and sensor quality; the piece includes a full camera-specs comparison and invites readers to judge the results.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rumored to feature camera upgrades, including a higher-resolution 12MP telephoto lens and a 50MP ultrawide sensor, building on the Galaxy Z Fold 7's camera system, with an expected release around July 2026.
Apple's iOS 17.2 update for the iPhone 15 Pro introduces improved telephoto camera focusing speed, support for spatial video, and the new Journal app. The update enhances the focus speed when capturing small faraway objects on the 5x telephoto camera, as well as the 3x camera. Spatial videos are designed to look three-dimensional when viewed on the Apple Vision Pro headset. Users can check for the update in the Settings app and enable spatial video recording in the Camera settings.