iPhone 17 Camera: Lacking Telephoto in 2025?

09/10/2025 Mobile

So, Apple just dropped the iPhone 17, and while there are some cool upgrades, I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed, especially when it comes to the camera.

They've added a square selfie camera sensor (finally!), making portrait and landscape shots easier. The Pro models get a 48MP 4x camera, and the standard model boasts a 48MP ultrawide camera. Great, right? However, here's where things get a little disappointing.

For some reason, Apple decided to skip the telephoto camera on the standard iPhone 17. In 2025, that's just not acceptable. Apple hasn't included a telephoto lens on its base iPhone since they were first introduced in 2016. This trend continues with the iPhone 17, despite costing $800. It feels like they're ignoring a pretty significant feature that many users, including myself, value.

Google also used to leave out telephoto cameras from their standard Pixel phones, since 2021. But they realized the error of their ways and added a 5x periscope camera to the Pixel 10. It seems like Apple is lagging behind the competition. It's not just tech enthusiasts who care; people want good zoom on their phone cameras.

Samsung has been putting a 10MP 3x camera on its regular Galaxy S phones for years, like the Galaxy S25. Oh, and guess what? It costs the same as the iPhone 17! Even the Galaxy S25 FE and OnePlus 13R offer telephoto capabilities, and they're cheaper. You don't even have to spend over $600 for decent camera zoom in 2025. Realme and Nothing offer great options in the $300-$500 range.

I find Apple's marketing particularly annoying. They claim the iPhone 17 has "2x telephoto" and "2x optical" capabilities when it's just cropping from the main camera. A dedicated telephoto lens would actually back up those claims! Instead, we have an $800 phone that probably takes zoomed-in photos that are no better than a budget Android phone.

That said, it's not all bad news. The new selfie camera is a welcome addition, and Apple's video capture remains top-notch. I'm also happy they finally offer 256GB of base storage. However, it's hard to overlook the absence of a telephoto camera on an $800 phone in 2025. Some people may not care about phone cameras, but the lack of good zoom is a significant drawback for most when spending a lot of money.