Friday, February 26, 2016

New Apple Headphones Release Date and Connectivity Rumours

apple

Apple to Launch Its Line of Beats Brand Lightning Headphone


The announcement of Apple’s Beats acquisition and Lightning module lead to assumption regarding the new headphones. On investigation the clues propose that Apple would launch its own line of Beats brands lightning headphone together with the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 would be the next generation smartphone of Apple and would possibly be released somewhere in September 2016.

 It was reported last week that Apple may lose the Lightning port and instead would be using a USB-C port. Besides that, the unclear rumour also mentioned that the iPhone 7 would have dual cameras as well as a Touch ID which would be integrated in the display.

 It has also been reported that it would be waterproof having at least 3GB of RAM. However, another rumour indicated that the company probably would get rid of the 3.5mm headphone port in order to make the iPhone 7 much thinner. The 3.5mm headphone port is presently on every iPhone and also the iPod Touch, the iPad, MacBooks, etc. Being the standard audio port which all devices require, one can connect the headphones to go hands-free or even listen to music.

Getting Rid of 3.5mm Headphone Port


According to Macotakara, the Japanese website, Apple would remove the 3.5mm headphone port on the iPhone 7 to reduce it to few millimetres from its thickness. The headphones would have to be connected to the Lightning port or the USB-C port instead. No USB-C headphones are seen yet, but a few Lightning enabled headphones.

 The reasonable solution would be wireless headphones with Bluetooth connectivity. The website is also of the belief that Apple would have a redesigned EarPod which would have Lightning plug with analog to digital converter. Should Apple get rid of the 3.5mm headphone port on the next iPhone it would mean that the user would not be able to use their regular headphones. Several of the users tend to prefer having a different headphone while listening to the music on their iPods or iPhone.

Though many have been presuming that Apple would bundle a pair of wireless EarPods with the iPhone 7, it may not be so. In one of the note of Barclays investor obtained by Business Insider, analysts Blayne Curtis and Christopher Hemmelgarn states that Apple would be shipping the iPhone 7 with Lightning enabled EarPods instead of totally wireless headphone.

Not Purchased the Rights to Cirrus’s Noise Cancelling Technology


Further on, the note also claims that Apple had not purchased the rights to Cirrus’s noise cancelling technology which is essential though the company is said to be considering in going wireless with the iPhone 7s headphones. The Lightning headphone module had first been unveiled at the WWDC session for the developers which had been titles `Designing Accessories for iOS and OS X’.

 Apple’s manager of platform accessories, Robert Walsh had explained during the session that there were many advantages of utilising the Lightning connector instead of the 3.5mm audio jack. It provides richer controls for playback and volume with more bandwidth together with other benefits. Walsh had informed developers that if the headphone supports for instance, the noise cancellation, one can suggest an app on the device which communicates with the headphone that controls its operations.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Apple Pay Officially Launches in China

Apple Pay

The Launch of Apple Pay in China


Apple Pay that offers great prospects though some substantial challenges has now landed in its fifth country. Apple has recently announced on its Developer page as well as through the Weibo account of CEO Tim Cook, the launch of Apple Pay in China. The Chinese consumers would now be capable of utilising the service in purchasing items at supported retailers by using their iPhones and Apple Watches.

The potential to pay for goods through a smartphone has been around for some years particularly in China. Apple Pay, launched in 2014, helped in arousing consumer interest in the concept. Apple had faced competition from Samsung Pay as well as Google’s Android Pay besides banks like JP Morgan and retailers like Walmart, who also intend to join in the mobile payment bandwagon.

Apple Pay is already being utilised in US, UK, Canada and Australia and in order to gain more foothold, the service is required to extend to additional countries. China tends to represent a main achievement since it is the largest smartphone market in the world and Apple’s second largest market with regards to revenue.

Encounter Key Challenges in Winning Chinese Consumers


Apple Pay seems to encounter key challenges in winning over Chinese consumers where several of them already pay for products through their phone by using services offered by one of the country’s two main online companies namely Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group.

Towards the end of last year, around 358 million Chinese paid for goods through their smartphones, according to Reuter’s reports that cited data from the Chinese Internet Network Information Centre. Moreover, Apple Pay needs retailers to furnish their point-of-sale terminals with NFC or near-field communication technology that tends to communicate with equally equipped iPhone of Apple Watch.

According to BBC News, Alipay system of Alibaba tends to conduct transaction by displaying quick response - QR codes that can be read by more phones and also supports both iOS as well as Android devices. One retailer who refrained from being named for fear of harming business prospects informed Reuters, that`with 100% saturation of local payment systems, none have been demanding for Apple Pay in China’.

Apple Pay – Solution in Need of a Problem


`Presently all have a local payment option on their phone and so Apple Pay is a solution in need of a problem’. In order to compete with Tencent’s Tenpay service as well as Alipay, Apple had been in partnership with UnionPay, which is a bankcard association, dominating the credit and debit card processing market of the country.

Apple Pay is presently supported by 19 various Chinese banks as well as lenders meaning that the service can work with about 80% of credit and debit cards of China, according to Vice President of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey, who informed Reuters. To make in-store transactions, Apple Pay needs to work with the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus together with Apple Watch.

The service works with all those devices and with the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Pro to make in-app purchases. No comments had been done by Apple to a request for comment.

Friday, February 19, 2016

GPS Tracking Down to the Centimeter

GPS_Tracking

GPS Tracking with a new level of accuracy


GPS Tracking can be defined as the surveillance through the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System) in order to trace the location of an object or an entity in a remote way. The details that a GPS system can provide are the latitude, longitude, the ground speed and of course the direction of movement.

The basics of a GPS: The need for better accuracy


A GPS is basically a constellation of twenty four satellites placed at certain points in space orbiting the Earth. It enables people on the ground to pinpoint on a specific location that is picked up by the satellites. The accuracy of the location that is indicated is somewhere close to 10 – 100 meters for most of the GPS devices. In case it is military grade equipment, the accuracy of the spot increases to 1 metre or less. The use of GPS has increased and has become low cost as well. People who own a smartphone, tablet or a GPS navigation system has access to and can make use of this modern technology.

The GPS technology is very valuable for the police, fire brigade, defense units and transportation or courier businesses. Other uses of this system can be the GPS guns that can fire a GPS tracker to avoid a dangerous pursuit by shooting at an escaping or a moving target by law enforcers. Other variants of this domain could be GPS dust that again comprises of tiny trackers. This method has also been employed for tracking employee locations.

However, the common concern regarding the GPS technology irrespective of its use has always been the accuracy of the location. In this regard, researchers at the University of California have come up with a new data processing method that has led to an increase in the accuracy of the transmitted position. This new system can now provide data that would be within the range of a few centimetres. This new development will be incorporated in the aviation, automobile and the naval systems apart from other precision technologies. The same accuracy can be achieved on mobile devices as well and the best thing would be that it is not going to increase the power consumption rate.

How did it all happen?


This new breakthrough was achieved after a reformulation of a series of equations which is the core of the process that determines the location of the GPS implant. The main driving force that led to this progress was the strong need of a system that would be beyond the metre level accuracy, especially in the case of autonomous cars and precision farming that need a higher level of accuracy.

In the case of cars, the applications controlling the safety system not only needs to know in which lane is a car running, but it also needs to know where exactly it is in that lane. Also, the information has to refresh at very high speeds as well as high bandwidth. Hence, GPS data along with from an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) were combined using INS (Internal Navigation system).

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Apple TV Is Getting Voice Dictation to End Your Typing Woes

Apple_tv

Apple TV –Dictation/App Store Search for Siri

With the updated Apple TV, typing has been a strain; however text input could get a lot better with its next software update. Presently out for developers in beta form, the next tvOS 9.2 will add dictation as well as App Store search for Siri enabling users to contribute text through voice commands.

One can also spell passwords out loud instead of doing things the hard way with the remote. Voice search works the way one would expect on the App Store permitting users to ask Siri to access assured categories or apps. The update is said to introduce Live Photos as well as iCloud Photo Library support, enhanced folder organization together with a revamped App Switcher.

As per MacRumors, the next instalment of tvOS 9.2 would be released to all users in spring officially together with iOS 9.3 for iPhone and iPad. One of the biggest complaints at launch, with the fourth generation Apple TV was the text entry. Considering that the video streamer supported Siri, though did not support dictation for quick search box completion, user account entry became unusual and also seemed unavoidable.

Voice Dictation Feature

The Siri Remote which comes with the new Apple TV enables Siri based voice search and the company is attempting to bring Siri search support on the Apple TV for Apple Music. The tech giant company has sown tvOS 9.2 beta 3 to developers and besides other features it has a voice dictation feature.

On enabling dictation in Apple tvOS 9.2 beta 3, one can speak in the Siri remote and enter text in any field which earlier needed a slow and awkwardseries of swipes and clicks on a horizontal row of letters. Dictation tends to aid the spelling of user names as well as password, besides quick word entry in search boxes. The update has also introduced the potential of searching the App Store from anywhere in the Apple TV interface on holding the button of Siri and speaking commands such as `Search the App Store for Plex’ or What games are in the App Store?”

The update also remedies other complaints on adding support for Bluetooth keyboards, Live Photos, iCloud Photo Libraries as well as introduces the ability to group apps in folders on the home screen of Apple TV like iOS.

Feature Not Available for General Public

Apple TVs will probably receive the tvOS 9.2 update in spring with an official date is rumoured to be announced at the March 15thevent where it is also likely to launch the iPad Air 3, iPhone 5se as well as the new Apple Watch models and bands.

The feature has not been made available for the general public and Apple is expected to include all of the features to users with tvOS 9.2, public rollout. It is strange that Apple has taken sometime in bringing such features to its tvOS platform considering that the feature had been on iOS as well as OS X for quite a long time. Taking into account that tvOS tends to make good use of text input system, it leaves one to consider over its apparent reasons.

We would be seeing at least one more beta before tvOS 9.2 is rolled to all across the world. Considering the fact the Apple is adding new features with every release of pre-release software for Apple TV 4, there is probably likelihood that the final build would bring surprises not seen or heard earlier.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Best iOS Apps: Apps You Should Download



Apps
There are thousands of apps made available to the user most of which are provided free of cost. Some of the following apps mentioned could be beneficial to the user.

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app is now free for download on iOS. It utilises the internet connection of the phone of 4G, 3G, 2G, EDGE or Wi-Fi, to call and send message to family and friends without any cost. Users can send and receive images, videos, messages as well as voice messages through WhatsApp

Uber, the taxi app makes moving around easier and instead of calling the cab and have cash in your pocket; users could request it and pay for it through the app. Uber is presently operative in London, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham and Newcastle, in UK.

Citymapper could be helpful if one needs to navigate through a city. This urban transport app comprises of an A to B journey planner, public transport delays, real-time traffic data, and maps and is presently available in Birmingham, London and Manchester in the UK.

Facebook, the world’s largest social network offers a strongly refined experience to iPhone and iPod touch though still enable access to contacts, feeds together with other important information which makes it in several ways greater in using Facebook in desktop browser.

PhotoSynth is a great outlook app, is user-friendly and amusing to use particularly while watching a panoramas taking shape when one tends to capture it. iOS Camera app has a panorama mode though PhotoSynth is more flexible and functions with older devices.

Dropbox – There are several app existing for the transfer of content between the computer and the device though Dropbox is free and easy to use than the others. Users can store files in a folder on your computer and Dropbox for you’re the device will allow you to access them, download them to be viewed offline.

Skype – Though FaceTime seems a great substitute to standard voice calls, it is not good if one has been attempting to contact someone without a compatible iOS or a Mac device. Skype seems to be an essential download wherein the interface tends to be simple and usable permitting the user with a Skype account in making free calls to another Skype user which are economical to any part of the world. It is useful if one is on Pay and Go, though the app also enables iPod touch users to use their devices for calls.

Adobe Photoshop Express –For quick, free and a usable tool in making edits to your iPhone photos, Adobe’s app is an appropriate choice. It can be used for cropping, straightening, exposure adjustments, colour effects, sharpening and much more.

Shazam, since 2008, is an iOS main, which will provide the name and artist of any songs with a matter of seconds. Moreover it will also pull up YouTube video with the lyrics enabling the user to add the song to your Rdio or Spotify playlists. It can be used to learn new music with its optional track.

CandyCrush Saga an immensely addictive game of puzzle enables the user to move through the levels on matching combinations of coloured sweets. This game is free and was one of the top 10 iOS download last year inspite of being launched in November 2012.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

iPhone 7 to Do Away with Antenna Bands and Protruding Camera

iPhone 7

iPhone 7 – Rear Camera in Aluminium Casing/Antenna Bands Upper-Lower Edge


According to news reports, the camera of iPhone 7 will be in line with its body and the antenna bands will now not stretch along its surface. The latest lustrous design would represent a move towards a much more uniform streamline presence.

 According to sources, the rear-camera would be within the aluminium casing and the antenna bands would be only on the upper and the lower edges rather than extending across the width of the handset. Several of the consumers were amazed at the decision of the company in enabling the camera on the iPhone 6 to protrude from its casing.

It is both out of character for the particular design standards, exposing the lens to scratches together with other damages. Doing away with the plastic antenna strips also seems reasonable. The company had been granted a patent last summer, specifying a metal composite capable of replacing the strips that are essential for the antenna of the phone in sending and receiving signal. The latest casing can be adequately thin to enable radio waves to pass through eliminating the need to coat the strip segment with plastic for the handset to send and receive signals.

Removal of Headphone Jack


Other rumours with regards to iPhone 7 comprise of removal of the headphone jack in order to develop a thinner body. The plan to eliminate the headphone jack to develop a slimmer body could be a provocative idea and the company could apparently include new wireless headphone with the new handset or probably a pair of headphones which tend to connect to the phone through a lightning connector. Since June 2015, third parties had also been creating lightning connector headphones when Apple had extended its made-for-iPhone licensing programme.

The company has also reported to be creating a type of wireless charging which tends to allow the iPhone from the need to be replaced on a charging mat, which is the most common format used presently, as per Bloomberg. But it is doubtful to be assimilated into an iPhone prior to 2017. The latest iPhone scheduled for release in September signifies and important moment in the history of Apple and the company has apparently reduced the production levels of iPhone 6 as well as 6s Plus by a third owing to fears of slowing demand for the unused year’s models inspite of early sales of over 13 million units within the availability period of three days.

More Advanced Hardware Changes – Encourage Consumers


iPhone 7 should have more advanced hardware changes in order to encourage consumers to buy it since the developing markets tend to reach increasing levels of saturation as the economy seems to shift from a buy to an upgrade cycle. The iPhone 5se, the next iPhone will probably be launched on 15 March at an event according to reports where the 4 inch handset would be revealed at a spring even in San Francisco together with the iPad Air 3 as well as some new Apple Watch straps.

The iPhone 5se is anticipated to have new features comprising of an upgraded camera, Apple Pay accompanied with Live Photos, for customers who tend to remain unconvinced by the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays which had been introduced with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in September 2014.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

New iOS App Airmail Gives You Hardcore Control over Email

Airmail

Airmail – New Email App


Apps are progressively being dominant in their design. Airmail of iOS which is a new email app is the perfect opposite. The amazing beauty of Airmail is that the user is in charge of the colours, the icons, the way one reads and responds to messages, what tends to occur when you swipe a little or when one swipe a lot, which order of conversations display, what one can do to an email.

 It seems like each individual Airmail user, gets to go back in time and be with the company’s designer in the creation of the precise email client they want to use. It comes at a cost of $4.99. The app, by default is a bit messy and complicated, the same way several email apps are.

It tends to feel as it is that way knowingly, so that one would look for means of turning off that red stripe near every single message in Gmail and discover the wealth trove of choices in store for the user. Airmail tends to act like it is aware that email is messy as well as complicated and its job is to support in various ways as possible.

Inbox is Limitless Filterable


The inbox is limitlessly filterable and one can see unread messages only or those with attachments or only emails, all with a single tap. While composing, an email has adequate formatting choices to choose from. User can connect Airmail to the other apps on the phone with the ability of moving stuff around.

Airmail for iOS has great number of options and it enables you to do anything one could imagine doing with email, it has snoozes, filters as well as third party app combinations and other things one may not have thought of , from setting per inbox notification sound to bouncing emails as well as change Gmail folder mapping.

Most of the things in Airmail could be changed according to one’s choice wherein you can change what tends to happen when you swipe an email, you could enable or disable the look of actions such as starring and sharing and can even reorder various core menus.

Airmail Has No Agenda


Leonardo Chiantini together with partner Giovanni Simonicca who developed the app state that the comprehensive options of Airmail tends to come by design. He had commented that `people seem to have different needs and they think that with emails, everyone takes a very different approach.

Airmail is to address the needs of professionals who tend to work regularly in their inbox. Presently it functions on the iPhone and Apple Watch and Chiantini informs that an iPad version would be coming later. Airmail is not an app which everyone should be using.

 It is big, dense and rarely rough around the edges. Airmail could be the precise option if one tends to have a lot of email to go through,causing a hindrance with the prevailing app of choices that may not let you function as one may desire. Airmail for iOS is amazing since it has no agenda. It is like a scrapyard for email to deal whichever way one intend to. For any query, a live chat option on the official site of the app is available for those interested.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

iOS 9: The Best Hidden Features

iOS 9

With the introduction of the Apple iOS9, tons of new features and functionality were discussed on various platforms when it was unveiled to the public. However, people are still wondering as to which could be the most exciting feature o fall. Not to worry, we would be covering on a lot today.

There will be a new Home Screen on the device. Users will get all the stories that they are interested in or they like in one place. This will ensure that there is absolutely no need to hunt around sites and applications to get what one might be interested in. The specific information is pulled out from various places as per the taste and specification and arranged in a fashion as preferred by the user. So, when it comes to going through information, it is definitely a beautiful experience irrespective of the type of device being used for the same.

Improved note taking and updation: 

Taking down notes has been a time tested activity and its app format – The Notes app is simply great for taking down notes. Additionally, one is also able to add pictures, site links or maps to the notes. It is even possible to draw a sketch using the finger. And, using the iCloud, any change done would be updated across all the devices that are linked. This ensures that there is only one standard version of version of information, thereby ensuring real-time updation of information and eliminating the chances of any misinterpretation.

Improved options for navigation: 

Travelling will be a new experience with this new OS. The Transit view displays routes, lines and tracks for trains, buses, ferries, etc. in the form of a map. This implies that travelling from one point to another is going to happen in a smooth way, even if it is a new place. Though this feature is available in a limited cities, however, things are expanding pretty fast. The application will show different categories like Food, Fun, Drinks, etc. and users will have to make the selection accordingly to get what they want.

Pay the bills or make purchases conveniently: 

The Apple Pay is another useful feature to make payments using the credit card. The Wallet function is simple to use and easy to access. Even the Kohl’s Charge card can be used with the Apple Pay. Things are underway to include store credit cards along with a range of reward cards so that everything can be managed by a single tap of the Apple Pay app.

SIRI enhancements: 

There have been dramatic improvements and Siri is able to fetch information, much like google, even if there’s no command given. Moreover, it can now recognize the pattern of usage and function accordingly. SIRI has been improved with voice command recognition as well. The notification and alert features too, have been updated.

iOS9 has brought key enhancements for the apps that one frequently uses like email, text messaging, maps, Internet or site browsing, taking notes and a lot of other things. Hence, those equipped with iPads and iPhones are bound to have a good experience once they start using their favorite apps.

Apple recalls power adapters for iOS and Mac products in several countries after shock risk


Apple Recall of Power Adapters – iOS/Mac


Apple, the tech giant, has delivered a recall of power adapters for Mac computers and some of the iOS devices which had been sold 12 years have been found to cause risk of electrical shock. The recall does not seems to touch UK power adapters though the two prong version that were sold in continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Brazil and Argentina were all subject to it together with the World Travel Adapter Kit of the company that had been sold in the UK.

It was observed by the tech company that in very rare cases, the adapter tend to break and create an electrical shock risk. The company stated that they were aware of 12 incidents where the same had occurred. Those which were not affected were the ones sold in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and US. To know if an adapter can be returned, one needs to check the back and read the series of characters on the interior slot.

Affected two prong plug adapter would tend to have four or five characters or no characters on the inner side of the slot where it attaches to the main Apple power adapter. According to Apple, if it is a four or five character number, it should be returned. However if it tends to bear regional letters like `EUR’ then it is considered ok.

Verify Serial Number – Part of Exchange Procedure


User would have to verify their Mac, iPod, iPhone or iPad serial number as a part of the exchange procedure and this can be obtained by syncing the device with iTunes. On the other hand users could use a Mac and get the serial number from `About This Mac menu’.

Users using an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or iPod could get the number in Settings, General and About, on an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or iPod. The company has requested customers to stop utilising affected plug adapters and to visit the support site for information on how to exchange the adapters that were affected for new, redesigned ones.

The support page of Apple for the incident has stated that users could return their adapters for redesigned ones, by contacting customer support or at an Apple Store. Apple has mentioned that the `customer safety is Apple’s top priority and that they have voluntarily decided to exchange affected wall plug adapters with a new, redesigned adapter at no charge’.

Visit Apple Site for Replacement


Apple had offered to replace some of the adapters for their iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S in Europe in 2014, after it was found to be overheated. Though the recall does not seem to directly affect the Indian consumers, several of the Indians could have purchased the products of Apple with affected adapters from the affected countries during 2003 and 2015.

As a means of precaution, it is advised to visit the Apple site in order to get a replacement. This could affect the company’s stock and its image and this year has not been very good for Apple with the slowdown in the sales and revenues of iPhone and a recall has been a little unwelcome

How to Determine the Effectiveness of a Disaster Recovery Plan


fig


With more and more businesses and companies relying on their IT systems, having a suitable disaster recovery plan has become almost compulsory. Any downtime of critical systems could very quickly cascade into a loss of revenue, and so having a disaster recovery plan that is ready to kick in and restore these systems as quickly as possible is crucial.

In the past most disaster recovery plans pivoted around the idea of having comprehensive backups in place that could be used when anything happened. Still, the process of rebuilding a server and restoring the backups used to be rather lengthy and translate into several days of downtime. Nowadays that is no longer the case and new technology has come in that significantly improves the timeframe for full restoration – even to the point where it should take just a few hours.

It is important that you look closely at your disaster recovery plan and analyze its effectiveness from time to time. When you do, some of the areas that you should look at include:

  • Location
Assuming a physical disaster occurs, it is important that any backup and recovery options that you have in play are located far enough away from your main servers that they won’t be affected. Whether it is a power outage or earthquake or some other natural disaster – the actual location of your backups does matter.
  • Frequency of back-ups
Generally speaking, backing up data more frequently is better – but the actual optimal frequency will vary from company to company. Some companies may be able to get by with daily backups (i.e. losing 24 hours of data at most might not be crippling) whereas others may require a much higher frequency and need to be backed up every 15 minutes.
  • Back-up integrity checks
To ensure that your back-ups are ready to use in case of a disaster, their integrity needs to be checked from time to time. Once again this will vary on a case-by-case basis, with some companies requiring an integrity check on a daily or weekly basis while others do so quarterly.
  • Time to partial and full restoration
Partial restoration normally refers to restoring data to the point where the company is able to access it, whereas full restoration refers to ‘normal’ usage being restored. With virtualization, it is possible for your server to be virtualized using a data center in just a matter of hours – but not all recovery plans will allow for this.

As you can see, analyzing the effectiveness of a disaster recovery plan could have a huge effect on whether or not you’re able to get your server up and running as soon as possible while minimizing (or eliminating) the loss of important data. While it is true that disaster recovery will incur some additional costs, when you consider the fact that it is balanced out against the risk of severe downtime that could affect your revenue then it is easy to put it into perspective.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Apple Invention Uses Spherically Curved Photosensor for Smaller, Better iPhone Camera

iPhone_camera

Apple’s Curved Photosensors – Smaller iPhone Cameras


Latest Apple patent discloses that the Cupertino Company would soon employ curved photosensors in creating smaller iPhone cameras which can capture improved photos. The design would aid Apple in its task of making the forthcoming smartphone much thinner.

The U.S, Patent and Trademark Office had recently published `Small form factor high-resolutions camera’ describing a cutting edge mobile camera module which utilises complex optics in delivering a much compact footprint with enhanced performance digital shooter suitable for placement in iPad and iPhone.

This exclusive arrangement offers a comparatively small ray fan spot size for all kinds of field heights at the image plane enabling a sharp low-distortion image. Apple has informed that employing curved array limits diffraction across image field, enabling smaller photosensor with equally smaller pixels. Moreover, with an axial length of two millimetres or less, the total camera package is extremely compact.

Sensor Refracts Light Through Trio Lenses


Apple has illuminated how the sensor tends to refract light through a trio of special lenses on a concave surface causing a sharp, low distortion image. The curved array limits diffraction, enables the use of smaller sensor with smaller pixels. AppleInsider has explained that to correct the diffraction as well as the visual aberration which tends to propagate within small cameras, the proposed lens system comprises of three lenses, two of which are convex or considerably convex.

A third meniscus lens or a lens with opposing convex as well as concave surfaces is placed between the first two lens components and the spherical photosensor. However the design seems to have its limitation like barrel distortion and Apple has described how it could use software in correcting the unwanted effects that tend to appear in various degrees of severity based on focal length, aperture as well as other system settings. It is not known whether Apple plans to apply its curved photosensor patent for its future iPhones since the company has relied for long on Sony’s stellar backside illuminated modules for its imaging requirements.

iPhone Thinner/Higher Battery Capacity


The patent had first been filed in 2013 and there seems to be no reason to think that Apple would be willing in replacing the Sony built imaging system already in use. Apple iPhone has been considered as having one of the best smartphone cameras all along. On the contrary, Apple has been looking for means of making the iPhone thinner with a higher battery capacity.

Credit for the patent filed goes to Xi Chen, David S. Gere and Matthew C. Waldon as its inventors. The technology could delay the unavoidable while Apple tends to cram more components in a shrinking device line-up. As in the case of every patent, there is no guarantee that this technology would show up in the near future devices though it is good to know that Apple tends to keep pushing the boundaries with its technology.

With rumours of a FaceTime camera set to make an appearance with the Apple Watch 2 this year, 2016 could probably be the year Apple may come up with one of the smallest and the highest quality cameras one has ever seen.