Apple is reportedly mulling putting multiple cameras on the back of the iPhone 5 to enable users to shoot videos and pictures in 3D.
The news comes from a patent filing dug up by AppleInsider and it shows that Apple is approaching stereoscopic 3D cameras in a different way. The company is trying to patent an approach for stereoscopic 3D shooting that will use a hardware-based approach to creating good looking 3D. The report said:
Apple would create hardware with multiple imaging systems, employing separate luma, chroma and depth/distance sensors to capture images that can be turned into a single, three-dimensional picture.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the next iPhone will have stereoscopic 3D cameras, as this would also mean that it would need to be accompanied by a glasses-free, 3D display. While that’s not a strict requirement, I don’t know why Apple would throw on these cameras while not letting people view the photos and videos directly on the phone. I don’t think the glasses-free technology is quite good enough yet for Apple to ditch its Retina Display.
Stereoscopic 3D cameras on the next iPhone isn’t as absurd as it may have seemed six months ago because it looks like this technology will be the next, big thing in smartphones – or at least, the next big gimmick.
The Thrill 4G and EVO 3D will be landing on AT&T and Sprint, respectively, soon and both of these will offer glasses-free 3D along with cameras to create video and photographic content which can take advantage of those screens. The G-Slate tablet will also have multiple cameras for this type of shooting but you’ll have to stream that content to another capable device to view it in all its glory.
What do you think, friends? Should Apple put this technology in the next iPhone or is it just a gimmick?
[Via AppleInsider, photos]
