Camera Lens iPhone Patent Continues Apple’s Camera Improvements
Apple’s always one for filing patents that it may never use, but sometimes, a patent is too important to pass up. This week, Apple filed a camera lens iPhone patent that would allow the iPhone to have swappable lenses. The benefit of this swappable camera lens iPhone patent is obvious: the swappable lenses would make the iPhone a camera comparable to that of DSLR cameras – or, to use a smartphone camera most are familiar with and one that is called the reigning smartphone camera in the industry, a camera of the Nokia Lumia quality.
Sony has its own sets of camera attachments that are designed to improve the iPhone camera, and, seeing that Sony’s Exmor camera sensor is implemented in iPhone cameras, has every right to do so. As for Apple, however, the idea of a camera lens iPhone patent shows that Cupertino is not yet finished with its camera challenges. Despite the fact that the iPhone 5s is said to let in more light for a better low-light photo than that of the iPhone 5, however, it seems as if the iPhone 5s camera still needs some work.
What kind of work is at play here? I think Apple has pinned down excellent photography with the size of its pixels, but still needs to pack more megapixels into the camera. The problem with the current iPhone situation is that, despite the thinner, lighter, and faster iPhone, it is impossible to pack more megapixels when the size of the iPhone decreases annually. Thus, creating swappable camera lenses in the iPhone experience would allow iPhone customers and photographers to extend the megapixel capacity of the iPhone 6 camera without forcing Apple to make the iPhone bulkier and/or heavier to do so.
Apple filed its swappable camera lens iPhone patent in Q4 2012, but the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just published it this week. Sony’s swappable camera iPhone lenses currently sell for over $200, and Apple may offer several sizes in order to reach both budget and expensive consumers.
Originally posted 2014-02-02 14:17:32.