The iPhone 8 is one of the most awaited smartphones, which is slated to get launched late in 2017, which also happens to be the 10th anniversary of iPhone. Thus, the market is expecting to see the most innovative and an entirely different iPhone. To make this more adorable, according to a report by The Korean Economic Daily, Apple has joined hands with LG Innotek to develop 3D smartphone camera which will enable 3D photography using dual lenses. LG Innotek is the exclusive supplier of the dual camera for iPhone 7 Plus which was launched recently. Moreover, LG Innotek has its own 3D camera technology which was used in LG Optimus 3D, launched by LG Electronics back in 2011.
Apple is now studying how to apply its 3D camera technology into LG Innotek’s smartphone camera. Since LG Innotek also has its own 3D camera and related technologies, such joint efforts will likely to bear fruit sometime within next year, reported The Korea Economic Daily.
Apple iPhone 8 With 3D Camera
Apple is hugely popular for its outstanding camera quality. To enhance its quality further, Apple introduced dual lenses in the iPhone 7 Plus, but not in the iPhone 7. However, by then, several devices like Huawei P9, HTC One M8, Honor 8 and LG G5 had already hosted this technology. Hence, the introduction of Apple’s dual lens camera wasn’t considered innovative enough, and the device was criticised in the market for the lack of innovation. This is, apparently, the reason why Apple has decided to develop a 3D camera for its next iPhone, to stay ahead and innovative in the competition. However, 3D camera might be available only in the ‘Plus’ category since it requires dual lens camera.
Besides, in the current iPhones, there are no such hardware features which are exclusive in the market. This is also another reason that has catalysed the declining market share of Apple.
Apple Betting Big on 3D For Years
Apple has been working continuously on improving its camera quality since forever. The decision to develop a 3D camera might have happened in November 2013, when Apple had acquired a 3D sensor startup, PrimeSense. To dwell deep into the 3D technology, in April 2015, Apple had acquired an Israeli camera tech company, LinX, absorbing its 3D camera technology. LinX has the technology of adding more depth to photos by dividing an image into three stages. Apple had filed a
In May 2016, Apple had filed a patent for 3D camera technology, which was rumoured to be used in the iPhone 7. Interestingly, Apple had filed another patent for 3D multispectral imaging and scanning projectors for 3D mapping in August 2016. All these events suggest that Apple had plans of introducing 3D smartphone camera for a very long time, but the latest report more or less confirms that it’ll be introduced in the next year.
All these events suggest that Apple had plans of introducing 3D smartphone camera for a very long time, but the latest report more or less confirms that it’ll be introduced in the next year.
Summing Up the Expected Innovations Till Date
Apple is preparing to lead the path of innovation in the market once again. We’ve already discussed the expected features like bezel-free design, glass body, no home button, increased screen sizes and now, the 3D camera. Apple might also reportedly integrate augmented reality technology (AR Technology) into the iPhone camera app. The AR technology in iPhone would help the users to recognise a real world object by pointing at it through the camera, although it would require creating or licensing a database of 3D objects. For this purpose, Apple had acquired a German augmented reality software company, Metaio, in May 2015. Apple also acquired another startup, Flyby Media in January 2016, which develops technology for mapping spaces using smartphones. Apple’s move to acquire all these startups now make more sense as iPhone may be looking to take the competition in the smartphone market to the next level.
As both the smartphone leaders, Apple and Samsung, have failed to impress the users with their flagship devices, the year 2017 could be full of surprises and will be marked as an innovative year in the history of smartphones. While iPhone 8 could be the most innovative iPhone Apple has made ever, Samsung is also gearing up to fuel the competition. To wash off the debacle of Galaxy Note 7 from users’ mind, Samsung is rumoured to launch the Galaxy S8 with dual lens camera and no home button.
The competition is only getting fierce. Therefore, it is high time for Apple to show some innovation to regain its stand in the market. With these rumours making the rounds, stakeholders are hoping to see an extraordinary iPhone next year. It will be a wise decision for Apple to meet these expectations since the company has started entering the ring of lacking innovation. However, only the launch will confirm whether the company will beat, meet or fail to the expectations.