A filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, uncovered by Apple Insider, shows an iPhone-like device with a unique switchable lens mobile camera.
The Apple patent application, called ‘Back Panel for a Portable Electronic Device with Different Camera Lens Options,’ describes a camera that would potentially accept add-on lenses and filters, complete with mounts for them.
Describing the system, the application reads: “It would be desirable to provide a structure for a compact device that allows the end user to reconfigure the optical arrangement of the device while retaining the benefits of assembling the device using a pre-assembled digital imaging subsystem.”
According to Apple Insider, the proposed new camera for the iPhone would feature a ‘digital imaging subsystem with a lens that has an optical axis,’ apart from a removable back panel would allow access to the subsystem itself. To give a discrete optical system, the back panel (with the lens) would fit onto the imaging system with the iPhone case holding it into place.
Potential lens and filter applications include a IR-cut filter, a macro lens, and a lens baffle – lens combination.
Image courtesy: AppleInsider