Nokia’s incredible PureView camera technology is one of the reasons why so many Android users were desperate to see the Finnish firm ditch Windows Phone and bring Google’s platform to its flagship smartphones instead — and you could soon see the same technology in future iPhones.
Apple has used Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Nokia’s handset business as an opportunity to poach executives who are seeking new challenges, and the Cupertino company has just hired Lumia engineer and PureView camera expert Ari Partinen.
Nokia has described Partinen as its own “camera expert.”
He’s played an integral role in making Nokia smartphones some of the best for mobile photography, and he’s held three different roles at the company since joining in 2007. On his LinkedIn profile, Partinen says his most recent responsibility was to make Nokia “the best mobile imaging company in the world.”
Lumia users and indeed many others will tell you he succeeded in doing that. If there’s one thing Nokia’s Windows Phone devices are famous for — aside from their colorful designs — it’s their cameras. The company’s most recent flagship, the Lumia 1520, has a 20-megapixel PureView sensor that takes incredibly detailed images even in low light.
Partinen will undoubtedly be a great loss for Microsoft, then — but indeed a great gain for Apple.
His hire comes as Apple looks to improve its smartphone camera sensors for the iPhone 6 this fall. The iPhone already boasts a terrific camera, of course, but it has always been a little lackluster in low-light environments. It also lacks features like optical image stabilization that are now offered by many of its rivals.
“Today will be my last day working for the amazing #Lumia family,” Partinen announced on Twitter this morning. “In June I will start a new chapter in Cupertino, California.” He then confirmed to a follow that “it is the company you are thinking assuming you are thinking Apple.”
Source: Ari Partinen
Via: Engadget
