Apple is rumored to be looking towards a supplier that could offer an improved zoom feature without needing to increase the size of the camera bump in next-gen iPhones.
The size limitations of smartphones make it hard to design camera systems that offer better features while also maintaining a minimal size. For some features, like an enhanced zoom, that requires more space than is currently offered, but that may not be the case in a future iPhone.
The company is said to be wanting to include a triple camera system for future iPhone generations, as well as one that relies on a “folded camera” for at least one of the trio.
Rather than use a straight line of sight between the sensor and the subject between lenses, a folded camera structure relies on a mirror or prism in the middle of the lens collection. This setup reflects the light 90 degrees, effectively working like part of a periscope and changing the sensor’s angle of view. This would allow the camera to take advantage of the length and width of the iPhone body, as opposed to fitting everything into the thickness of the body and the camera bump extension. This could also allow for an enhanced optical zoom, although the distances between the lenses and the sensor would have to be adjusted to boost magnification and focus on a subject.
The concept has been employed by Samsung in its Galaxy S20 Ultra as well as Sunny Optical Technology in China, and it’s thought that Apple’s current relationship with Samsung as an iPhone component provider could extend their partnership into cameras. Samsung also purchased Corephotonics in 2019, making it a more attractive provider for these components.
Per noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as of July, Apple was said to be talking to Semco and Largan+Alps/Minebea over lens assemblies and mechanisms, with an iPhone bearing the technology potentially hitting the market by 2022.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and ETNews