IPad Pro, Apple R&D also sneak into iPhone 7 rumor rollup
Just as I was deciding between going with an Apple Watch tattoo or one of the old Fantasy Island TV show star Tattoo on my wrist, comes confirmation from Apple that ink on your wrist indeed can much up heart rate readings on your new Apple timepiece. Oh well, back to the iPhone 7 rumor rollup for me…
It was another relatively quiet week of iPhone 7 (or iPhone 6S or 6S Plus, if you prefer) rumors, but a few tidbits did find their way around the web. Among them, scuttlebutt about Apple converting ideas from a new patent into an iPhone that features both telephoto and wide-angle camera lenses.
Here’s what Apple Insider had to say:
Apple’s invention proposes a separate small format telephoto camera be used in conjunction with a normal-to-wide angle camera like those found in current iPhone models. Considering physical restrictions and the current state of imaging technology, a dual-camera implementation would likely yield higher quality images than a comparable single-lens system with integrated optical zoom.
TechCrunch jumped on this idea as well, though warned that: “Two factors that might affect whether or not we ever see it actually implemented include component cost, and space within the case.”
The future of the insanely popular iPhone camera, uh, smartphone, has been a hot topic of conversation given the advances that Samsung and others have made on the picture-taking front. Apple’s confirmed-but-not-confirmed acquisition in April of Israeli camera maker LinX already had iPhone 7 watchers wishing, begging and hoping that the next great smartphone will incorporate advanced photo-taking technologies.
Patentedly Apple reports on a new patent (“Speech Recognition Wake-Up of a Handheld Portable Device”) that could one day enable iPhone users to unlock their phones hands-free, via voice commands. This would be a handy wake-up alternative to manually entering a password or using TouchID.
Another good sign for those wondering if Apple will keep advancing its iPhones and other offerings rather than sitting on its laurels is that the company is pumping way more funds into research and development than it used to.
Who knows where Apple will funnel that research effort, but there’s no reason to think iPhone 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. won’t benefit. Apple Insider crunches the numbers and says Apple spent $1.9 billion on R&D in its last quarter and has spent $1.1 billion more in the first 6 months of fiscal 2015 than it did in the first half of its fiscal year 2014.
iPad Pro leak
Lest we overlook the iPhone’s bigger sibling, the iPad, the rumor mill got a dose of tablet action this past week. The long-rumored iPad Pro, a 12.9-inch edition of the device meant for serious business, made an appearance — as a render — on relatively reliable Twitter leakster @OnLeaks. (The standard iPad today has a 9.7-inch display.)
And maybe this is getting ahead of ourselves, but Unbox Therapy even posted a video this week about iPad Pro cases…
The Pro tablet, expected to be priced somewhere between an iPad Air and MacBook Air according to the Pocket-lint blog, is rumored to be coming your way at June’s Worldwide Developer Conference.
Could an iPhone Pro be far behind?
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