The few people who have had the chance to try out Apple’s mixed reality headset are always impressed by the ability to play back 3D photos and 3D movies that someone else previously took. Such “spatial photos” or “special videos” can currently only be recorded with the headset itself – and probably also when the Vision Pro goes on sale in spring. According to a new leak from China, this should also work with the iPhone in the future – allegedly as part of a new “Ultra” model.
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Better with the iPhone
Speculation that Apple might give the iPhone a realistic 3D recording capability arose shortly after the Vision Pro was announced in June. In fact, it should feel rather strange for the owner of the headset if they film a child’s birthday party with the headset on. Despite the device’s EyeSight capability, which relays a view of the wearer’s eyes to an external screen, Vision Pro wearers may seem a little strange to others.
3D recording by iPhone would therefore be a good solution. The hardware required for this is to be supplied by a future top-of-the-range iPhone model, according to a user of the Chinese short message service Weibo according to MacRumors, who had already published correct Apple preliminary information. The new iPhone model should therefore appear after the Vision Pro, possibly as part of the iPhone 16 in autumn 2024. Apple will “cause the market to rethink the type of photos and videos that a mobile phone should take”. .
Memories of real moments
The current iPhone models already have a LIDAR sensor for augmented reality applications, but the smartphone cannot match the massive camera and sensor equipment of the Vision Pro. This contains the first 3D camera that Apple manufactures. The group writes: “Each spatial photo and video takes the user back to a specific moment, such as a celebration with friends or a special family reunion.” People look as big as they do in real life, “in brilliant colors and with a spectacular wealth of detail”.
At the moment it is still unclear how Apple will implement its 3D camera in the iPhone. It would be conceivable for the group to combine images from the various lenses with data from the LIDAR sensor. So far, Apple has always called its iPhone top model “Pro Max”. For some time, however, the term “Ultra” has also been traded – but probably not this year.
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(bsc)