That was fast - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have only been on sale for two months but the first rumours are already beginning to trickle out regarding a successor. According to an early report, the iPhone 7 may get a pair of upgraded rear camera sensors that would mean the biggest jump in picture quality ever for a smartphone.
The news comes from John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Speaking on his The Talk Show podcast, Gruber claims that "a birdie of a birdie" revealed to him that Apple is working on a two-lens camera system for future iPhones. Although he didn't mention any specific technical details, he did postulate that the upgrade would mean a massive leap forward in terms of image quality, bringing the smartphone on par with some digital SLR cameras.
Apple certainly wouldn't be the first company to use twin camera sensors, although the Duo Camera found in the HTC One (M8) was used to measure depth information and create depth of field effects rather than boost image quality.
It has been suggested Apple's approach may mirror that of small tech startup Corephotonics, which uses a dual-lens camera system with two different focal lengths. One sensor is used for wide angle images and the other is used for close-up and macro shooting. The two focal lengths would negate the degrading effects of digital zoom, and could still be used for 3D spacial measurements because the lens offset is a known entity.
Apple holds a range of camera-related patents, including post-capture refocusing, interchangeable lens modules and external lens attachments; the dual-lens system could be an evolution of one of these.
We're highly sceptical of any rumours this early into a product's lifecycle - especially when there's a questionable source and no accompanying photos. However, Apple's development and manufacturing process has get progressively leakier with each subsequent release, so it's possible, however unlikely, that there could be a grain of truth to the rumour.
We're unlikely to find out until next year; each iPhone has a 12 month life cycle, and the iPhone 7 (or should that be iPhone 6S?) won't be launching until September 2015.
