A telephoto camera in a mobile device is a type of lens that allows the camera to zoom in on a subject from a distance without losing image quality. It has a longer focal length than the standard lens on a mobile camera, and it is designed to magnify the image and bring distant objects closer to the camera. Telephoto mode allows you to zoom in (up to 2 times Optical zoom) on a scene or a single subject, meaning you can get close when youre taking a photo, without losing detail. Most modern smartphones have multiple cameras on their rear surface, and the telephoto camera is one of the three main camera types. The other two are the wide camera, which takes your regular snap and does most of the heavy lifting, and the ultra-wide, which handles those zoomed-out landscape shots. The telephoto lens on phones is a vital part of the blurred background, bokeh effect you see in so-called ‘portrait mode’ shots these days. The best smartphone currently on the market for telephoto zoom is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which features two dedicated 10-megapixel telephoto cameras, one offering a 3x optical zoom and the other. The advantages of using a telephoto lens in mobile photography include capturing portraits, wildlife, and sports photography, and zooming in on distant objects without losing image quality.