The iPhone 7 Plus camera is one of major new features on the handset, and it’s the only iPhone to boast two rear-facing snappers - the smaller iPhone 7 is still stuck on a single lens.
Take a look at the back of the 7 Plus and the large camera bulge is home to two 12MP cameras, one of which is a wide-angle lens while the other is a telephoto lens. In short, switching from wide-angle to telephoto gives you a 2x optical zoom, which means you don’t lose image quality while getting closer to your subject.
Optical zoom is something smartphones have always struggled with, and usually you just have a digital zoom at your disposal, which reduces the quality of your shots the closer in you get. You can still digital-zoom ( up to 10x) on the 7 Plus if the 2x optical option isn’t enough - but it’s good to see Apple taking a positive step forward here.