The telephoto lens on the iPhone X requires only 25% of the light required by the iPhone 7 Plus

In a recent report for Studio Neat, Dan Provost details one of the advances Apple has made in the camera of the iPhone X. Before being able to detail the advancement that Apple has made, it is important that you first understand how the telephoto lens works on the Apple devices that sport them.

When you zoom in to 2X magnification on your iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X, your phone does not automatically switch to the telephoto lens in all low light situations. Instead, the device decides if there is a enough light in order to produce a quality image with the telephoto lens. If there is not enough light, the device will instead opt for a cropped version of an image from the wide angle lens. Inversely, if there is enough light then the device will go ahead and make use of the telephoto lens.

Provost reports that the telephoto lens of the iPhone X requires less light in these situations than the lens in the iPhone 7 Plus. After constructing a test environment, a test was carried out that measured the amount of light in lux required for each of the phones to switch over to the telephoto lens. The iPhone X switched over at 16 lux, far less that the 88 lux required by the iPhone 7 Plus. This approximately roughly 75% decrease is a testament to Apple’s hard work on these mobile cameras.

This is a significant advancement for an already stellar camera, and one that foreshadows great things with even more improvements in the future. For all of the details on Dan Provost’s low light test, check it out at Studio Neat.

Are you enjoying a dual lens camera iPhone? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Studio Neat