Why does Apple think three lenses are eight lenses?

An iPhone 17 Pro in a person’s hands at a demo table.

How many lenses do you see?

Apple always makes big claims about the cameras in its new iPhones. But what does it actually mean when Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro’s three rear cameras are equivalent to “eight pro lenses in your pocket” and that the iPhone Air’s one rear camera is equivalent to four lenses?

The super-thin iPhone Air only has one camera on its rear: a 48-megapixel sensor with a 26mm-equivalent f/1.6 lens. It’s the same as the main camera of the regular iPhone 17 (which also features a second 0.5x ultrawide camera). The 17 Pro and Pro Max have a similar-but-not-the-same main camera, consisting of a 48MP sensor and 24mm-equivalent f/1.78 lens – and it also …

Read the full story at The Verge.