“Apple Inc. has acquired Israeli camera-technology company LinX Computational Imaging Ltd.,” Orr Hirschauge and Daisuke Wakabayashi report for The Wall Street Journal.
“The companies had been discussing an acquisition price of about $20 million, according to people familiar with the matter,” Hirschauge and Wakabayashi report. “LinX develops and markets miniature cameras for tablets and smartphones. Using an array of sensors that capture multiple images at the same time and proprietary algorithms, LinX says its cameras can gauge depth and create three-dimensional image maps.”
“Last year, the company said its tiny camera modules allow for better-quality pictures in low light and faster exposure at standard indoor conditions,” Hirschauge and Wakabayashi report. “It said the technology offers single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera image quality without the need for a bulky device.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: May this technology find its way into iPhone, extending its lead as the best smartphone camera, and other Apple products ASAP!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “Jeff.L,” and “BD” for the heads up.]
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20 million sounds like a bargin.
What im still baffled with is the 3 billion Beats acquisition.
Believe me, you’re not the only one!
How much revenue and profitable still flowing in from sales of Beats headphones and buds? How much are the content deals for the AppleTV worth? How much will the Beats streaming music service be worth?
It is easy to gripe about the $3B acquisition price of Beats. But what do you really know about the underlying economics of the deal. My guess is very little.
Apple lost $3.74B just in currency fluctuations last quarter. Far more than the Beats acquisition, and the currency loss has no value – it’s simply evaporated profit.
Apple felt it needed Beats. Things are still happening with it. Focusing on the $3B cost is a similar sort of thinking to those who say Apple products are “overpriced.”
They spend 20 million on a Camera Company & waste $3 Billion on Beats!
Unfortunately, even the most sophisticated technology can never fully compensate for the limitations of a teeny-tiny image sensor, but it’s definitely fun to watch Apple push the envelope.
How you say… iPhone 7? Lol! Just give me my watch already! Can’t hardly wait!
Go Apple!
Remember Beats pulled in 1.3 Billion a year in revenue at time of purchase.
Exactly, just there the deal will papy for itself in 2+ years.
Hmm. So what can we do with 3D image maps? I sniff the 3D future a little bit stronger today. We can capture the world doing 3D things. Or, the device can capture US doing 3D things and do things in response! IOW: 3D gestures, gaming…
So how are captured 3D image maps going to be expressed on the display of the device? Apple already has some patents addressing at least a couple methods, if I recall.
The newest camera and viewing techniques are always reserved for porn.
3D porn is coming to an iPhone near you soon!
If you say so. 😉
iLasik?