Talk about a powerful crystal ball! In a new Medium post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo offers his predictions for the iPhone 17, iPhone 18, and iPhone 19 that will likely arrive in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
He says the high-end iPhone 17 model is expected to feature an upgraded tetraprism camera, with key specification changes from a 1/3.1-inch 12MP CIS in the iPhone 16 Pro series to a 1/2.6″ 48MP CIS. This upgrade “will enhance photo quality and zoom functionality.”
Kuo says it’s uncertain whether only the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the upgraded tetraprism camera. If so, the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro will also feature the upgraded tetraprism camera.
“The upgraded tetraprism camera requires all-new designed prisms,” Kuo says. “The prism must have a shorter form factor to reduce the camera’s height.”
As for the iPhone 19, he says its tetraprism camera will undergo another significant specification upgrade with a more substantial improvement than those in the iPhone 17 and iPhone 18. The 2027 smartphone is expected to support a better optical zoom.
“There are several ways to increase the optical zoom,” Kuo says. “ One of the most feasible solutions is to increase the number of prisms to lengthen the light path (in which case, it would no longer be called a tetraprism). As the number of prisms increases, the prism size may need to be reduced, increasing the complexity of the prism design.”
