During Apple's presentation on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it was revealed that the telephoto lens will have a 5x optical zoom. In the world of smartphones, it's not quite as impressive as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x camera zoom but Apple has a reason for that.
According to a French interview with Numerama, Jon McCormack, the Vice President of Apple Camera Software Engineering explained that the 5x zoom lens is more stabilised and can be done incredibly well, as compared to 10x zoom. McCormack said you really need to have "the steadiest hands in the world" or a tripod to have a steady shot.
On top of that, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has the most advanced camera stabilising system yet thanks to the OIS and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module combo. Maxime Veron, Apple's Senior Director of iPhone product marketing was also at the interview saying the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x lens has excellent light management due to the ƒ/2.8 aperture. The Samsung flagship uses an ƒ/4.9 aperture, which doesn't capture as much light as the former.
If you were to ask our professional opinion, we would certainly take a more stabilised zoom shot over an unstable 10x zoom shot any day. After all, all the 10x zoom shots that we took over the years are often unreliable.
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