Apple has revealed a complex new technology that could push the iPhone camera ahead of its rivals.
Apple’s latest design goes a step further in that it will offer a true optical zoom with a variable level of magnification from a single lens. This would allow the camera to avoid one of the main pitfalls of current smartphone zoom implementations and maintain high quality across the whole zoom range.According to Apple’s patent, the new lens would offer a continuous optical zoom range between 3x and 5x with an aperture of between f/2.3 and f/2.9.
Typical ‘optical zoom’ solutions use multiple lenses with fixed magnification levels, for example 1x, 3x, and 5x. To generate magnification levels between these points, for example, 4.3x, these camera outputs are combined using digital image processing to create the illusion of a smooth, continuous zoom function. Unfortunately, this results in noticeably lower quality and requires more lenses on the back of the smartphone.
As this is currently just a patent, there’s no guarantee Apple will implement this exact design in the iPhone. Furthermore, the company would face several challenges in bringing such a product to market. Such a lens would require a significant number of delicate moving parts, raising concerns over reliability and durability, so Apple would have to implement it without a significant impact on reliability and support costs.
But, successful implementation would be a big win for Apple, allowing it to outperform the competition in what is, for now, one of the iPhone’s few areas of weakness.