iFans will be pleased to learn that the impending iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad mini 2 and iPad 5 could all benefit from a power-packed camera, if a new patent approval obtained by Apple is to be believed.
"The new camera features were officially introduced by Apple before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Q1 2012, indicating a solid possibility that the upcoming iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini 2 and the iPad 5 will showcase them on release dates," reports IBTimes.
What's more, these new enhancements will also make their way to iOS 7 devices, including iPod, iMac and MacBook per a Patently Apple report.
"According to Apple, the camera technology revealed in their four patents can be used in devices such as the iPhone (a mobile phone), the iPod touch (personal data assistant or PDA), an iPod (portable music player), a monitor, a television, MacBook (laptop), iMac (desktop), and iPad (tablet computer(, or other suitable personal device," notes Patently Apple.
The four camera patents are:
- Transformations and White Point Constraint Solutions for a Novel Chromaticity Space.
- Alleviating Dominant Color Failure in Automatic White Balance Using Histogram Trimming.
- Use of Noise-Optimized Selection Criteria to Calculate Scene White Points.
- Multi-Illuminant Color Matrix Representation and Interpolation Based on Estimated White Points
The basic principle on which the enhancements will operate is a camera bump up to "color balancing and correction." This feature would ensure that iDevice users get phenomenal camera results that are comparable to high-end point-and-shoot cameras.
The first patent focuses on image processing or "a novel chromaticity space that may be used as a framework to implement an auto-white balance solution." This novel technology will introduce ways of "creating a novel chromaticity space that may be used as a framework to perform color balancing on images captured by a variety of different image sensors."
The second patent has to do with color balancing and will make the iPhone equipped with "techniques for alleviating problems associated with dominant color failures in auto white balance (AWB) algorithms."
The third and fourth patents will enable best camera use thanks to new features like "noise-optimized selection criteria ... and multi-illuminant colour matrix representation."
The objective of the newly acquired patents is to bring top-end camera features iPhone and iPad users' way, which will surpass offerings from Android- and Windows-powered rivals.
