An alleged iPhone 16 camera leak making rounds across Apple rumor sites showcases an unusual vertical rear lens housing replacing the iconic horizontal camera bump array of past iPhone generations.
As expected, this radical departure from established Apple design traditionAlready ignites debates around aesthetic preference. However, the strange new look likely ties directly to enables advancements like spatial video capture in the iPhone 16 camera module.
What Does the Vertical iPhone 16 Camera Show?
Shared on Twitter by noted mobile device leaker Ice Universe (embedded below), the leaked iPhone 16 chassis mockup reveals three large, vertically-stacked lenses on the back.
iPhone 16 pic.twitter.com/xBCwZ4RcZW
– Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 24, 2023
From top to bottom sits a periscope lens, large primary wide angle lens, and ultra wide angle lens.
While an unorthodox look for iPhone shooters, the components preview capabilities not possible in landscape orientations.
Enabling Apple’s Rumored Spatial Video Format
The key reason for realigning rear lenses revolves around rumors suggesting the iPhone 16 gains Apple’s custom spatial video format with depth-enabled footage leveraging both stereoscopic data.
Capturing such immersive, 3D spatial video requires specialized camera hardware with depth and scene data recording not previously prioritized in iPhones.
Thus, Apple likely determined the vertical configuration optimized meeting augmented reality and creative use case demands despite styling break from convention.
What is Apple’s Spatial Video?
As described by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple supposedly develops a custom video codec supporting:
- 3D effects with depth more convincingly than parallax-based approaches
- Life-like VR/AR visuals when viewed through a headset
- Horizontal panning without distortion artifacts
By capturing real-world depth and scene data, Apple intends a format surpassing stereoscopy and 360 footage quality on every metric.
Other Rumored iPhone 16 Camera Upgrades
Alongside spatial video readiness, reputable analysts also predict several other major photography upgrades incoming with the iPhone 16 family:
- Redesigned 48 megapixel primary camera for crisper, more detailed shots
- Telephoto lens upgrades better facilitating optical zoom
- Possible periscope lens addition enabling way more lossless zoom range
- Astrophotography mode for stellar low-light night skies
Combine these photo improvements with the game-changing spatial capture functionality, and the controversial vertically stacked lens may quick grow on even the most skeptical shooters.
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