Apple’s latest acquisition could be game changer for iPhone camera

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sensor technology
An iPhone 6 shooting along side a camera modified with a Quantum Film Sensor in 2015.
Photo: InVisage/YouTube

Apple has reportedly bought a California startup that developed new image sensor technology that could boost the iPhone’s photo and video capability.

A news website that covers the digital imaging space reported on Apple acquisitions of InVisage, citing unnamed sources that said the deal was completed in July. Some former InVisage employees are already working in Cupertino, according to the report.

The report in Image Sensors World said the deal was never officially announced and the story hedges a bit with the headline InVisage Acquired by Apple?

Photography website PetaPixel said InVisage had developed a sensor that is four times more sensitive than traditional camera sensors. Dubbed the Quantum Film Sensor, it uses a semiconductor material and “quantum dots” to gather light with more efficiency than traditional silicon.

image sensor tech
The Quantum Film sensor developed by InVisage.
Photo: InVisage/YouTube

QuantumFilm sensors boast higher resolution, light sensitivity and great dynamic range, PetaPixel reported.

image sensor tech
A semiconductor layer coated with “quantum dots” reportedly captures more light than traditional silicon.
Photo: InVisage/YouTube

A 2015 promotional video for the QuantumFilm Sensor shows side-by-side footage from an iPhone 6 and a camera modified with the InVisage Sensor (view the video below). With an appearance of richer, more vibrant colors, the video shot on the QuantumFilm Sensor also captured motion with no rolling shutter distortion, according to the video.

sensor image tech
From side-by-side videos captured with an iPhone 6 and a camera with the Quantum Film sensor.
Photo: InVisage/YouTube

News of this sensor technology supposedly now in Cupertino drops a couple of days before the official public release of the iPhone X, which is being touted and heavily demanded in part because of Apple’s new TrueDepth camera system.

Source: PetaPixel

https://youtu.be/WpfIHdn1Df0

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