The iPhone doesn’t always have the best smartphone camera comparatively, but that may change with the next iteration of Apple Inc.’s most popular device. According to Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber (via The Tech Block), Apple Inc. could introduce its “biggest camera jump ever” in the next-generation iPhone.

In a recent episode of his podcast The Talk Show, Gruber said, “The specific thing I heard is that next year’s camera might be the biggest camera jump ever. I don’t even know what sense this makes, but I’ve heard that it’s some kind of weird two-lens system where the back camera uses two lenses and it somehow takes it up into DSLR quality imagery”. In Gruber’s words the source of the information is “from a birdie of a birdie”.

The camera is rumoured to incorporate a two-lens system, similar to the Duo Lens camera found in the HTC One M8.

Two-lens cameras are the new frontier

The best-known supplier of a system like this is Corephotonics. The company’s Eran Kali provided CNET with a demo of how their system works, explaining that “the magic happens when the images from two lenses — one’s a fixed-focus telephoto with a narrow field of view and the other a normal wide angle — are combined together via its algorithms into a single image.”

Another possible supplier could be Sony Corporation. On November 17, Sony Corporation announced a 21-megapixel “stacked” sensor with high speed autofocus and 4K HDR video. Their press release stated, “With 21 effective megapixels, this stacked CMOS imaging sensor features compact size, higher image quality, and improved functionality”. It is, however, unlikely that long-term Apple supplier will incorporate the 21-megapixel version into iOS, but the 16-megapixel version could make an appearance.

Apple makes significant camera improvements with every iteration of their iPhone. Their latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus includes an Apple-designed image signal processor with Focus Pixels. However, it is the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, that is rumoured to receive the greatest improvements yet.

Even though these are just rumors and there is no concrete evidence of what Apple is working on for their next launch; nevertheless two-lens cameras is a new frontier, as manufacturers explore fresh technology options.

photo credit: AshtonPal via photopin cc