Generally, there’s nothing more interesting than a good Apple patent, except maybe paint drying or a good article on the effect of toilet paper on the environment. We mock, of course, but Apple patents do come and go with considerable regularity and very few actually end up turning into real products. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t one or two that catch our eye and get the imagination juices flowing.
Take this new patent that may point to the iPhone 7 featuring a fancy new twin-camera system as an example of that. We had already heard rumors of a dual-camera setup possibly being in the works for the iPhone 7, but this new patent application confirms that Apple was indeed working on such technology, though it is obviously unclear at this point whether that ever did, or ever will turn into a real product.
Potentially though, this patent makes provisions for using two camera lenses to essentially switch between two different focal lengths, allowing photos to be taken that are zoomed in without resulting in an overall lower resolution like they do currently. More interestingly though, the patent also mentions that the two lenses could be used to take stills while also recording movies, again without any reduction in image quality or resolution unlike current options.
In fact, the use of two cameras could theoretically allow Apple’s software to simultaneously record 4K video while also getting that slow-motion video that we all wish we had after something awesome happens. The patent itself mentions using iMovie to blend everything together into one movie, for example.
In typical fashion, the wording of Apple’s patent application makes it difficult for mortals to truly understand what the implications of a dual-camera system could be when paired with Apple’s software. Whether we will see the realization of that potential in the iPhone 7 remains to be seen, and with almost a year before that device gets announced, we’re in for quite the rumor rollercoaster before we get there.
(Source: USPTO)
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