Companies such as Xiaomi in China began creating kits that convert smartphones into semi-professional cameras, before the idea later spread with Vivo and Oppo, especially in flagship category phones such as the Vivo X300 Pro and Oppo Find X9 Pro.
Now, it seems that this trend has reached Apple, as recent leaks indicate that the company is testing external teleconverter lenses with the aim of improving the quality of zoom when photographing distant objects. This type of accessory is expected to appear officially with the iPhone 18 Pro series later this year.
Right now, iPhone 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max owners can reserve a compatible camera kit developed by the same team that designed the Vivo X300 Pro range.
The kit is available under the name Retrova in two different versions. The basic version, available on the Kickstarter platform for $72 plus $18 shipping, includes a phone cover with a detachable photography grip. The all-in-one version, which costs $184 plus shipping, includes a 2.35x teleconverter lens, a filter mounting ring, and additional accessories such as a carrying strap and a tripod.
The shooting grip offers a two-stage shutter button for focusing and shooting, a multi-function button and zoom control, as well as a rotary dial for adjusting settings such as exposure and ISO. Unlike the Vivo and Oppo kits, the Retrova kit adds a microSD slot at the bottom, allowing ProRes video to be recorded directly to the memory card at speeds of up to 312MB per second.
The Teleconverter lens, which is installed in front of the telephoto lens, converts the 4x lens on the iPhone 17 Pro to a 10x equivalent optical zoom with a focal length of 235 mm, while it raises the 5x lens on the iPhone 16 Pro to a 12x equivalent zoom with a focal length of 282 mm.
Besides, the company offers additional optional accessories such as a 2x zoom lens, 62mm and 67mm filter rings, remote controls, and magnetic fill lights that attach to the center of the cap.
It also offers a special camera app with a classic interface that includes multiple filters and a full professional mode for manual control of photography and video. The photography grip also contains a 300 mAh battery, which is mainly used to power the grip functions and not to charge the phone.
In terms of availability, PGYTech expects to begin delivering the shooting grip in March, while the complete kit is expected to ship in April. Although crowdfunding platforms always carry some risks, PGYTech’s long experience in the field of camera and phone accessories reduces the chances of failure.
The most important question remains related to the quality of the lens, especially with the company’s promises to use professional lenses made of low-dispersion glass with 13 optical elements, in addition to the possibility of easily upgrading the kit to support the iPhone 18 Pro by replacing the cover only.
