Apple's reasoning as to why the iPhone 15 Pro Max's telephoto camera's tetra prism lens has a 5x zoom and not a higher magnification is now known thanks to an interview conducted by Numerama of France.

In an interview with John McCormack, Apple's vice president of camera software engineering, and Maxime Veron, senior director of iPhone product marketing, Numerama asked the obvious question as to why it did not. The reason is that rival models like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have a more impressive telephoto camera, in Samsung's case a 10MP 10x zoom.

So why did Apple decide that a 5x zoom was sufficient? Apparently, it comes down to image stabilization and the way the average iPhone owner uses their camera

As McCormack explains (via Google Translate): "The 5x zoom is something that can be stabilized incredibly well. Unless you have the world's most stable hand or tripod, it's really hard to use. When we think about creating a feature, we always ask ourselves, "Who will use it?" We always ask ourselves, "Who is going to use it?

"We make cameras that people use," McCormack further explains.

Veron noted that the telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a large aperture which also helps with image quality. The larger aperture means that more light hits the camera sensor, and in theory, the iPhone's telephoto camera will produce brighter, more attractive images than higher-magnification telephoto cameras, which tend to use smaller apertures to aid focusing.

In other words, Apple's argument is that the phone's 10x zoom won't work if you're taking pictures while holding it in your hand rather than mounting it on a tripod or other stand. And in my experience, they have a point.

After using the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x zoom camera, I found it to be very simple to use and quite stable when held in both hands. Having said that, however, the natural movement of the hands certainly makes it difficult to frame properly. You can't point and shoot in the same way you can with a typical smartphone camera.

I am not so sure about Apple's point that the iPhone camera focuses on people. The phones I test often take pictures of landscapes, buildings, and views, and the powerful zoom makes it surprisingly easy to frame subjects like the top of a building or a distant hill that you can't just walk up to. Furthermore, Apple is aiming the iPhone 15 Pro Max at enthusiasts who are drawn to using their phones to take professional-grade photos and videos, rather than simply snapping away at night in the city.

For example, the two photos above show how much closer you can get to a subject with a 10x zoom compared to a 5x zoom. The overall image quality is also quite similar with Apple's large aperture. Therefore, we feel that 10x zoom is not as niche a smartphone feature as Apple claims.

Apple has shown time and time again that it is not interested in pursuing the latest smartphone technology. This is evidenced by the fact that the iPhone 15's display is still stuck at 60 Hz, even though rival Android devices all offer refresh rates of at least 90 Hz. Perhaps this will be added to future iPhones once the smartphone's image stabilization is able to stabilize 10x zoom shots. For now, however, we'll have to put up with the iPhone 15 Pro Max's mix of optical and digital zoom, or switch to the Galaxy S23 Ultra if we want this level of magnification in our smartphone photos.

The entire iPhone 15 series launches tomorrow, but there is still time to pre-order the iPhone 15. Read our iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max reviews to be fully informed before making a purchase decision.