It seems that Apple is going all out with the performance of its cameras for its future smartphone. We previously reported that the iPhone 14 Pro will get an all-new 48MP sensor for its main camera, along with a few other cameras. We had also reported that the front camera would be an autofocus.
Now Apple seems to be thinking about making things even better by offering users an improved zoom system, thanks to an all-new lens technology that Apple recently patented. Note that the new iPhone 14 range will not receive this new technology.
The patent, first spotted by PatentlyApple, shows a new folded telephoto lens with a novel single prism design. Folded lenses typically use complex systems of prisms and/or mirrors to redirect light sideways within a smartphone’s body. However, when light passes through an optical element, it is refracted or diffracted depending on the nature of the optical elements involved. This means that the more elements the light has to pass through, the worse the final image quality will be.
In very rudimentary terms, Apple’s prism system can employ a number of different configurations of reflective surfaces, anti-reflective surfaces, and shadow masks to achieve the desired result without requiring as many optical components. Sure, you’re losing light and therefore needing higher ISOs or wider apertures, but for the most part the light that’s received by the sensor isn’t refracted or diffracted.
A telephoto lens that can be used in a smartphone without making the smartphone’s body too thick is notoriously difficult to manufacture and even more difficult to calibrate. In addition, the image we get from these lenses can hardly hold a candle to the images captured by the regular main camera.
If Apple actually manages to get its new system up and running, the iPhones of the future will have the best overall camera systems, capable of capturing some truly stunning images with the telephoto lens in addition to capturing great images with just the main camera. It will also help Apple develop a much-needed all-new digital zoom system for the cameras.
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