Apple May Be Working To Improve Quality Of Underwater Photos

There are also sorts of theories about Apple’s upcoming iPhones, including enhanced water resistance for the handset. A new Apple patent has surfaced which suggests that the company is working on a new camera which would improve the quality of underwater photos taken using an iPhone. The patent doesn’t just list improvements for a standard camera used to take underwater shots, it highlights some advanced methods to ensure that the camera can take great photos when the phone is submerged in water.

It’s considerably difficult to take pictures underwater as opposed to above ground given the different optical properties of air and water. There’s also the issue of murkiness at depth in natural bodies of water.

The patent details a “submersible electronic device” which would use multiple advanced sensors to detect underwater conditions and then feed that information to a control circuit. That circuit would then adjust parameters such as color balance and contrast to appropriate levels. The array of sensors will include a light sensor which would be able to measure ambient light conditions above and below water. The depth sensor would be used to determine the depth below the surface at which the photo is being taken.

There may also be a light source in the camera that would be used alongside a sensor measure light “backscatter” to find out the murkiness of the water. All of this information will be used to correctly color balance the image. All of this may be possible at depths of more than 160 feet.

It’s obviously too soon to say when or if we will see this technology on an iPhone. Not all technologies that are patented tend to end up in consumer devices after all.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: patents