Apple patents a dual-prism periscope zoom camera for future iPhones

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a patent demonstrating Apple's research and development of a smartphone periscope camera. According to the publication, Apple filed the patent in February 2018, predating the Huawei P30 Pro by over a year.

As the description and embedded image show, Apple's periscope zoom camera has two prisms, an infrared filter, four to five lenses and a camera sensor. While Huawei's periscope cameras have a similar set-up to the one described above, Apple's use of two prisms is unique. The idea behind this is to allow Apple to install the camera sensor parallel to a smartphone's back panel, rather than at a right angle.

The patent also mentions that the periscope camera has an f/2.4 aperture and 3x optical zoom. However, we imagine that Apple has improved upon these details in the last three years. Ming-Chi Kuo, a renowned Apple analyst, expects iPhones with periscope cameras to launch in 2023.

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