In practice, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are capable of less optical magnification than advertised in the marketing text based on a new kind of logic.

Of the new Apple smartphones announced yesterday, the Pro-brand devices generally feature the most advanced imaging technology. Unlike the cheaper sister models, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have not two, but three cameras on the back, which is complemented by a LiDAR scanner.

The development is serious in many respects compared to last year’s iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, but on the optical zoom front, Apple still lags behind its rivals and hides all of this in a strange way that it can confuse customers.

In the presentation of the absolute top model, the iPhone 12 Pro Max from 480-612 thousand HUF, it was said and also stated on the product website that we get a “five times optical zoom range” from the device. However, this is only true if the telephoto unit’s focal length at 65 millimeters is compared to the wide-angle unit’s focal length at 13 millimeters instead of the main camera’s 26 millimeters, contrary to the practice of the industry. If the telephoto unit is metered to the main camera, the optical zoom is only 2.5x.

“For double and half optical zoom, for double optical zoom” – the statement is hidden in the technical data of the novelty, but on the main overview page of the device it stands out:

If Samsung followed a similar logic, it would announce the Galaxy Note20 Ultra with 13, 26 and 120-millimeter rear cameras with optical zoom instead of five times instead of five. And for the P40 Pro +, equipped with rear cameras with focal lengths of 18, 23, 80 and 240 millimeters, Huawei would not be talking about a magnification of ten times, but of more than thirteen times.

Apple is also trying to mask the relatively modest zoom capabilities of the 440-572 thousand forint iPhone 12 Pro, which has a smaller sensor and simpler image stabilization. In this case it mentions a “four times optical zoom range”, but if, as usual, we measure the 52mm value from the telephoto module for the 26mm main camera, we only get twice the optical zoom. That is, Apple mobiles have been able to have the same zoom as the same for many years.

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