2028 iPhone Expected to Feature 200MP Telephoto Lens
Apple is evaluating the possibility of equipping future iPhones with a 200MP periscope telephoto camera, but this upgrade is likely not to materialize until 2028. Initial models to adopt the 200MP telephoto lens will likely be Apple's Pro-level iPhones, further strengthening their imaging capabilities as a key selling point.
Currently, Apple has fully adopted 48 million pixel sensors in its high-end iPhones, but has not followed the Android camp's already popular "over 100 million pixel" specifications. Industry consensus generally believes that, considering market competition and product positioning, Apple will eventually join this trend, but the timing remains uncertain.
Digital Chat Station, a leaker on Weibo, recently revealed in a post that Apple is evaluating a 200MP periscope telephoto module through its supply chain. The original leak itself lacks detail, but it's not unexpected for major manufacturers to try higher-pixel solutions on flagship products. However, in the comments section of the post, the leaker added a key piece of timing information – when a netizen speculated that mass production would not occur until 2027, he responded that it was more likely to be 2028.
It is worth noting that the Weibo leaker's overall accuracy regarding Apple-related rumors is not high, which is related to the need to continuously produce a large amount of information and a fast pace. Although Digital Chat Station is one of the active accounts in the industry, its past record can only be described as "sometimes accurate, sometimes not" when it comes to specific Apple product timelines.
Rumors about a 200MP iPhone camera have surfaced multiple times. As early as May 2025, Digital Chat Station released similar news, stating that Apple was testing a 200MP sensor. In January of this year, a Morgan Stanley analyst also mentioned in a report that the 2028 "iPhone 21" is expected to adopt a 200MP camera configuration. However, the day after the release of the analysis report, Digital Chat Station claimed that Apple was currently only in the "material change testing" stage and had not even started prototyping.
In March of this year, the leaker updated his statement again, saying that the testing of the 200MP camera sensor was for the 2027 iPhone 19 Pro model, earlier than previously expected. Now, his latest statement has once again pushed the expected timeline back to 2028, showing a clear reversal in pace.
Given Apple's consistent high level of supply chain confidentiality, it is difficult to accurately judge the company's true plans for imaging hardware from a single leak. For a flagship product with both sales and influence at the forefront of the industry, Apple's internal parallel evaluation of camera systems for multiple generations is a standard procedure. Without more authoritative and consistent signals, the various timelines for the 200MP iPhone camera are currently more like "relatively reasonable guesses" based on limited clues.