Apple has been awarded a new patent for a digital camera component that could dramatically improve the quality of pictures taken with an iPhone.
The patent details a new design for a “digital camera with light splitter,” a component that’s typically found in high-definition camcorders. The “light splitter” parses red, green and blue light across three dedicated sensors. Current iPhones use a single sensor to detect all three colors, but splitting the light across three separate sensors has the potential to dramatically boost color accuracy, even in a dimly lit room.
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People pass time as they wait outside an Apple store for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in London on Sept. 17, 2014. Lefteris Pitarakis—APPeople wait in line in front of the Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersA man sleeps in a tent in the queue outside an Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014.Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty ImagesA man wearing a replica of an iPhone 6 Plus model on his head yawns while waiting in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersA woman sleeps in a chair as she waits in queue outside the Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014. Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty ImagesA staff member removes a display poster of iPhone 5S at an Apple store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014,.Yuya Shino—ReutersCustomers queue outside an Apple store in Hong Kong on Sept. 19, 2014. Xaume Ollerose—AFP/Getty ImagesKen Miyauchi Vice President of Softbank, Japanese mobile phone company and actress Sayaka Kanda, in a pink dress, react during a ceremony to mark the first day of sales of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Shizuo Kambayashi—APAfter being first in line for 19 days, Moon Ray, from Jackson, Miss. runs the gauntlet of Apple store workers as she enters the Fifth Avenue Apple store in New York on Sept. 19, 2014.Peter Foley—EPAApple store staff high five customers as they enter an store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesA man wearing a mask depicting Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs holds up a cardboard cut-out of Apple's new iPhone 6, as he walks into an Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersAndreas Gibson celebrates as he exits an Apple store in New York after being the first to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19, 2014. Julie Jacobson—APJamael Ahmed jumps in the air as he leaves the store after being the first to purchase the iPhone 6 at Apple Covent Gardens in London on Sept. 19, 2014.Ben A. Pruchnie—Getty Images
Apple has not confirmed if the patented technology, first spotted by Apple Insider, will appear in the next generation of mobile devices. And, of course, just because Apple has patented something doesn’t mean it will appear in actual products at all.
