“LG Innotek united forces with Apple to develop a smartphone camera module which enables 3D photograph[y],” The Korea Economic Daily reports. “The camera which uses LG Innotek’s dual camera will likely to be applied for Apple’s new products starting from the latter half of next year.”
“Apple acquired an Israeli start-up LinX in April 2015 for US$20 million, absorbing the latter’s 3D camera technology,” The Korea Economic Daily reports. “LinX, founded in 2011, has the technology of adding more depth to photos by dividing the digital image in three stages.”
The Korea Economic Daily reports, “LG Innotek is now exclusively supplying its dual cameras for Apple’s iPhone 7 which was released in Korea last month.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Pulling out all of the stops for the Tenth Anniversary iPhone!
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s LinX acquisition: The Israeli startup that will give iPhones SLR-quality photos – April 15, 2015
Apple buys Israeli 3D/multi-image camera company LinX Computational Imaging – April 14, 2015
Apple’s focus in Israel: Chip design – February 26, 2015
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin – February 25, 2015
Tim Cook meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel – February 25, 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Cupertino – March 6, 2014
Apple confirms acquisition of Israel’s PrimeSense, company behind Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect, for $350 million – November 25, 2013
Apple confirms purchase of Israel-based Flash-memory part maker Anobit – January 10, 2012
Apple chooses Israel for first R&D center outside Cupertino – December 18, 2011
A 3D camera would be nice indeed but Apple really needs to address the dated iPhone design itself. We need a new form factor like a foldable screen.
I share your excitement about the next big thing. But change for the sake of change is unwise. If the current iPhone design works well, then why push for radical change? Would you prefer a hexagonal wheel because a circle has become just too darn boring?
3D as a home technology is in a strange spot right now. As a concept, it has had its fits and starts several times over the history of motion picture. In the mid-50s, several movies came out showcasing 3D (and there are plenty of B&W photos from those times with audiences wearing white cardboard 3D glasses). It quickly disappeared, only to re-surface sometime in the 80s (anyone remember the all-time biggest debacle, Jaws 3D?), disappearing quickly again. This time around, we’ve now had a steady stream of 3D feature films for over ten years. While theatrical audiences for 3D have come down since the beginning of this last period, it seems that the movies are still bringing strong profits to warrant making them, and there are hundreds of 3D titles on Bluray available today.
Five years ago, 3D TV sales were surging and every TV maker was making and selling 3D models almost as much as the non-3D ones. Today, they are barely 5% of their product lines. While theatres are still showing 3D movies (and successfully selling them for premium prices), 3D TVs aren’t exactly hot anymore. And while cable TV operators still have a few 3D offerings, most have scaled back, or eliminated, 3D content due to lack of interest.
A few years back, I bought a 3D TV (it was just $40 more than the same model without 3D). It has been more than six months since last time I watched a 3D movie. There is simply no way to easily (and inexpensively) get 3D content. There are no more video stores (everyone streams online), most of the streaming services have removed 3D content (lack of interest).
I’m not sure what is the future of Apple’s 3D camera on iPhone 8 (if it does happen), considering the decline of interest in 3D video in general. Then again, it just might take an immensely popular device such as the iPhone to revive interest in something like 3D photo (and video).
Maybe it will push the lenticular postcard market back into popularity and allow you to make your own via service similar to VistaPrint.