A future “iPhone Ultra” will feature a 3D camera to capture spatial photos and videos to be displayed in Apple’s Vision Pro headset, according to a rumor shared with MacRumors via a Weibo user with a proven track record for disclosing accurate information about Apple’s plans.
Hartley Charlton for MacRumors:
The camera configuration of a future “iPhone Ultra” model released after the launch of the Vision Pro headset will reportedly “lead the market to rethink what kind of photos and videos a mobile phone should take.” It seems highly likely that the information refers to the capture of spatial photos and videos, a unique feature of the Vision Pro that uses outward-facing cameras to record immersive 3D content.
Standard photos and videos from an iPhone or another device can still be viewed on the headset, but the 3D images and videos are considerably more immersive and can only be captured using a Vision Pro itself. The feature is so central to the Vision Pro experience that the device has a dedicated mechanical button on the top to activate it…
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple could release a new high-end device called the “iPhone Ultra,” sitting above the “Pro Max” in the lineup, as soon as next year. The Apple Vision Pro headset is set to launch in early 2024.
MacDailyNews Take: It would certainly make sense for Apple to offer a camera capable of taking spatial videos and photos that doesn’t have to be head-mounted.
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I can see how the Vision Pro would be able to take 3D photos as it has the space to accommodate the separation of cameras representing the left and right eyes. To do the same on the iPhone would require having cameras on both top and bottom of the phone back to approximate what you would get from the Vision Pro. No renderings for the upcoming Ultra phone show a new camera arrangement to support the article’s claim. Maybe an extra camera peripheral to add to the bottom of the iPhone when taking 3D photos?
Don’t forget it has LiDAR. I think they also bought that company that was developing a 3D camera that would let you focus after the fact. It somehow recorded all the light coming into the lens from all directions, giving enough data to create 3D images.
Apple doesn’t do iPhone peripherals or toaster fridges. Apple will make this tech work within the general limits of their current design language, simultaneously blowing our expectations and putting niche players out of business.