The next iPhone reveal is approximately six months away, and the rumor mill suggests Apple’s iPhone 14 has advanced to the engineering validation testing (EVT) phase. Meanwhile, reports suggest the 2023 iPhone 15 models could feature a periscope camera lens capable of up to 5x optical zoom.

Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu claims that the iPhone 14 is now in the EVT phase, seemingly unaffected by the recent lockdown in Shenzhen, China. The analyst bases his claims on information from a supply chain survey.

An important revelation Pu made pertains to the iPhone 14 camera. He claims the Pro models will feature 48MP primary shooters on the back. Previous rumors have also seconded this claim. Pu says there is a strong possibility Apple will use a periscope lens system in the 2023 iPhone 15 camera system. The lens would be capable of 5x optical zoom and available only on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This claim contradicts the previous speculation from reputed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who believes the Cupertino brand will use a periscope camera lens on the iPhone 14 launching this year.

For the uninitiated, here’s a quick explainer of how periscope lenses work from our previous coverage:

“In a periscope camera system, the sensor is placed in a plane perpendicular to the phone’s back instead of in a parallel plane. A mirror is used to reflect the light from the scene towards the camera sensor. The optical zoom is enabled by a multi-part lens assembly stacked vertically in planes parallel to the image sensor. After getting reflected by the mirror, the light rays pass through the lenses and are projected onto the sensor. The most significant advantage of the periscope system is that complicated lens assemblies such as those for telephoto lenses can be crammed into the compact form factor of a smartphone body. For the end-user, the periscope cameras enable high optical zoom so you could take razor-sharp photos from afar with minimal distortion and loss in clarity.”

“Apple would be rather late to add a periscope lens to the iPhone in 2023. Several flagship Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Huawei P30 Pro already sport periscope cameras. Until Apple catches up, iPhone users are limited to the 3x optical zoom the telephoto lens offers.”

Corroborating rumors we heard earlier, Pu believes that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max would be powered by a new A16 Bionic chip. This chip is expected to have a larger die size than the current-generation A15 Bionic, despite the use of TSMC’s 4nm process node.

Lastly, the analyst’s report also sheds light on the possibility of OLED iPads in the future. Pu says Apple will embrace OLED technology for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPads in 2024. He adds that we are more likely to see OLEDs on the iPad Air models while the iPad Pro range continues to use mini-LED instead of switching to OLED.

Update: Kuo Revises Prediction

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took to Twitter to announce that he has revised his predictions. He clarifies that the 2023 iPhone 15 would sport a periscope camera lens, not the upcoming 2022 iPhone 14 models.