With iPhone 5 announced and released, designers are back to the grindstone. In fact, they probably already have been for a while. A few new Apple patents filed just days ago provide some hints at what Apple cameras might do in the future.
One of the most inteteresting covers a number of gestures that would be used for location-based filtering and distortion. Basically, this would cover gestures used to make post-shot adjustments to your pictures whether you’re using those to clean it up a bit, or mess with it for kicks.
Another of the patents covers a form of assisted image capture intended to help users take a picture that is “well-composed”. The patent covers a system where an image is shown on the screen, can be frozen there if well-composed, and replaced by a second image if that second image is substantially similar to the first. Like most patents, it’s intentionally vague.
The other five patents are mostly related to red-eye reduction, outlining various ways to identify it, and then remove it. Patents are very consiously constructed to have the widest breadth possible, so the ideas outlined in these could show up in any number of ways, shapes, or forms. Or not at all. Nevertheless, it looks like Apple might be turning some serious attention to its camera, and although it may not be a Pureview, the next iPhone/iPad camera could do some interesting things. [Patently Apple via CNET]