The camera system in the iPhone is to be further improved in the coming years. New documents from the California company now show what a long-awaited improvement in Apple’s smartphone could look like.
In particular, the telephoto camera in Apple’s smartphone has some catching up to do compared to the competition. With new technology for the iPhone, the company now apparently wants to improve this camera.
Cameras with so-called periscope technology are already used in various Android devices, such as the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. The patent that Patently Apple discovered is simply titled ” Folded camera ” and shows the technical details of Apple’s implementation.
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iPhone: Patent documents camera with periscope system
The problem that all smartphone manufacturers face is the extremely limited space in the thin housing of current cell phones. A large optical zoom requires just that. However, this can be circumvented with a trick, the periscope system.
The picture shows how the light in Apple’s solution is directed through two prisms onto the actual sensor. The lenses are located between these two prisms in the iPhone camera. The light is so to speak folded and guided through the actual “lens” before another prism folds it again. Only then does the sensor matter.
The lens system between the two prisms also includes the aperture, which should be f / 2.4 or larger. The entire system can also move independently of the prisms. This enables autofocus and optical image stabilization. The description of the patent speaks of 3x optical zoom.
When will the Periscope Camera in the iPhone come?
According to initial reports by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple had planned to introduce a periscope camera in the iPhone in 2022.
In the meantime, however, Kuo has changed his assessment and last spoke of the year 2023. As MacRumors reports, other sources continue to speak of the first iPhone models with periscope technology in the coming year.
One of the challenges is said to have been the development of our own periscope system.
Many components of the technology are already protected by patents from other companies.
However, Apple’s patent that has now emerged gives hope that the company has found its own way.
