US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of their research projects involving a camera device that provides the user with configurable optic options. The unique aspect to this is the device’s removable back panel. Although Apple’s patent background mentions a mobile phone, their actual summary and patent detailing mention nothing of a phone in any traditional way. So the device could either represent a next generation iPhone or a standalone camera that Apple has been playing with since 2009. While Apple has toyed with the idea of adding various lenses to handhelds via an external accessory in the past, their concepts were never in-line with Apple’s great design ethic. Today’s design seems to properly address the need for better portable device optical options while retaining an Apple-like form factor. The only real question remaining is this: Is Apple designing this removable back panel design as part of a standalone camera or as part of the iPhone’s reinvention. Which do you think it’ll be?
Source : Patently Apple
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