Samsung recently filed a patent with USPTO, which has been revealed today. The patent shows a smartphone that unfolds into a tablet. Earlier this year, reports hinted that Samsung was working on a folding phone under the name ‘Project Valley’. The patent, titled Foldable Device and Method Of Controlling The Same, was submitted to the USPTO on May 26th, 2015.
The sketches on the patent application reveal several configurations of a folding device. One of the sketches also includes some onscreen icons like WhatsApp, Phone, Messages and even an iPod icon. Samsung and Apple have had a love-hate relationship for a while now, and both have been very guarded when it comes to keeping their patents a secret.
The designs, in fact, look quite innovative for smartphone displays, which are currently ruled by square, flat designs. A folding phone would give you access to the display even when the device is folded. Perhaps after introducing the first curved screen on a smartphone with the Round, Samsung plans to take it up a notch with this design. Only time will tell if the Korean manufacturer has something innovating up its sleeve.
A while ago, we had mentioned that Nokia will be back and that a new Nokia device is in the works. This new device, allegedly called the C1, will be the first device to bear the Nokia logo since the Finnish company was sold to Microsoft a few years ago.
The new device will come out in 2016, and there have been a number of leaked renders that claim the design of the C1, though each source has leaked different designs. Today, a new render has surfaced from a first time leakster, which one may question the authenticity of. However, the image shows a very minimalist and sleek design, which actually looks pretty good, if it is confirmed as legit.
The C1 is also depicted running both Android and well as Windows 10 OS. What the final outcome will be is anyone’s guess at the moment. We’ll have a clearer picture once we get word from a Nokia official. Till then, let us know what you think about the above design in the comments below.
There are smartphones and then there are modular phones. We hear something new about smartphones everyday, but even modular phones need their day in the sun. Last year, the PuzzlePhone was introduced to the masses. The modular phone is made up with multiple pieces that can be upgraded, swapped or replaced as needed. The PuzzlePhone has three pieces: the Brain, the Spine, and the heart.
The ‘brain’ contains the processor, camera, RAM, and storage; the ‘spine’ provides the structure and screen; and the ‘heart’ holds the battery and secondary electronics. Finnish company Circular Devices initially offered multiple size options for the PuzzlePhone, but had to streamline their offer for its initial crowdfunded release.
The team behind the PuzzlePhone has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo seeking to raise $250,000 to kickstart production. So far the site has received $40,234 with 41 days left. The Indiegogo money will be used for manufacturing, shipping, and the product itself.
In terms of features, the PuzzlePhone features a 5-inch 1080p display, an unspecified 64-bit octa-core processor, 3GB RAM, a 2,800mAh battery pack, a 12-megapixel back camera, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow (or higher depending on the release date). The PuzzlePhone will have 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage options for various backers of the campaign.
We’ll know in a few weeks whether the team behind the PuzzlePhone has everything to go ahead with the production. If you want to be a part of the campaign then head on over to Indiegogo and do your part.
iPhone 7 is still a year away, but that has not stopped the rumour mill working day and night to bring you every little piece of speculated news. Earlier, there were rumours that the upcoming flagship device from Apple will lose the home button. Now, we have fresh rumours regarding the screen of the iPhone 7.
According to AppleInsider, the iPhone 7 will sport an OLED display thereby giving up on LCD display that it has relied on so far. Apple followers will know that the Apple watch is the only Apple device to sport an OLED display currently. In 2013, Tim Cook has expressed his distaste for the OLED displays calling them “awful” when it came to colour saturation.
However, it looks like Tim Cook may have changed his opinion now. One reason behind this change could be that OLED displays have improved considerably since they were first introduced. OLED offers a deeper black and can do without a backlight, which means that devices can be slimmed down. It is clear that Apple will look to make it’s upcoming flagship sleeker, slimmer, and perhaps wider than its predecessors, and an OLED display will certainly help with that.
Concept
As of now, LG has been supplying Apple with OLED displays for the Apple Watch and will probably do so for the upcoming iPhone as well. Meanwhile, Samsung is also trying to become a supplier for Apple’s wearable device and reports suggest the Korean manufacturer also wants to supply displays for the iPhone 7 and has already shown some sample OLED display panels for Apple to consider.
Samsung’s OLED displays have been praised over the past few year while Apple’s displays have been wanting. Switching from LCD to OLED will undoubtedly give users a better visual experience with the iPhone 7. Apple has yet to confirm the reports. A concept video of the iPhone 7 was posted by FreeMind. The actual device may be far from it, but the concept does look good. Follow this space for all the latest news on the iPhone 7.
When Apple launched the first iPod 14 years ago on October 23, 2001, very few imagined the impact it would create in the way we consume music. For all the hate Apple receives today by dedicated groups out there, even they would have to agree that back then when Apple said it would come out with something revolutionary, it meant it.
The iPod was perhaps one of the best inventions of the 21st century. The device literally changed the way we listen to music and single-handedly dethroned the traditional Walkman and CD player. 13 years later, on September 9, 2014, Apple quietly decided to kill the classic iPod.
The sixth generation 160GB iPod Classic was the last Apple product in the iPod line to use the original 30-pin iPod connector and the Click Wheel. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the iPod Classic was discontinued because the parts were unavailable and a redesign was unwarranted given the small amount of consumer interest in the product.
Blame it on a generation that was moving towards all things touchscreen, the iPod Classic indeed was seeing low demand. But that doesn’t diminish the fact the Apple had made a serious dent in technology and the music world with the iPod Classic.
Walkman of the 21st Century
The idea behind the invention of the iPod was to create a portable music device that was not “big and clunky or small and useless”. One of the reasons Apple is what it is today is because its founder, Steve Jobs, was bent upon making technology sleek and beautiful. This is what they wanted to with the music player. Successive generations of the iPod Classic saw not only a sleeker, beautifully crafted device but also having a sturdy construction and a massive storage capacity to the pleasure of music lovers.
The Feel of the Iconic Wheel
iPod (3rd Gen)
One of the main reasons the iPod Classic was so successful was because of its simplicity. The device had a decent sized screen and a Touch Wheel that was replaced with a Click Wheel with the 3-gen iPod. The wheel made using the iPod ridiculously easy. A scroll from left to right or right to left let you navigate through thousands of songs and artists in your collection. There was also a center select button, and four auxiliary buttons around the wheel. And that’s really all one needed.
The wheel added that extra bit of flair that came with the device’s sturdy yet sleek design. Navigating through your library was simply too easy. One could even do it without lifting one’s thumb. In all honesty, touchscreens may be the present technology, but even that can’t compete with the wheel’s functionality. Music needed a device that made listeners feel the music; that made them want to listen to music all day. That kind of feel of a personal music player died with the iPod Classic.
A Hundred Albums, A Thousand Songs
It started off with a 5 GB storage and went up to 160 GB by the sixth-gen model. But even an iPod with 30 GB or 60 GB storage was enough for music lovers. The point is that Apple provided a device that had a massive storage for users to keep their entire collection of music all in one place. Spotify and Apple Music is useful in certain circumstances, but you can never get the feeling of owning your own music with them. For years Vinyl collectors bemoaned the emergence of MP3 players as it meant you couldn’t own a physical object. Now music streaming has literally killed the idea of owning music.
iPod (6th Gen)
The iPod Classic let you access hundreds of albums and thousands of songs in a single device. The Guardian‘s Will Dunn lamented the demise of the iPod: “There’s still a huge affection for the iPod Classic and it’s not hard to see why – Spotify might offer 20 million songs, but 120GB of music is more than most people need, and your iTunes library doesn’t carry data charges or a subscription fee. Also, I think the Classic is a more distraction-free listening experience – I’m more likely to get through a full album on one.”
A Pure Music Experience
Today, one is surrounded by the latest in technology. You probably have a phone with 32 GB space or higher. And yes, you do have songs in them too. But they’re still devices that are used primarily for other purposes and can never provide one with the same feel as a dedicated music player. Another point one should remember about the iPod was the massive battery life. You could go through a week of music on a single charge.
Do we really have a device today that looks and feels like a music player? Even the iPod Touch models don’t really look the part. If you go on Amazon or Flipkart today and type in music players, you’ll be surprised to see that there is not one good music-dedicated device that would take your fancy.
People Still Want a Portable Music Player
It’s true. Technology may have changed, but people haven’t. The need for a small, portable music player still exists in the world. Don’t believe us? Well, when Apple decided to call it a day with the iPod Classic, a lot of people rushed to Apple retailers to buy the last of the remaining stock. The sales of the iPods (what was left of them) suddenly saw a rise and even saw some of them being sold for four times the actual value.
What one can take away from this is that the news reminded people just how important the music player was. until a few years ago, before streaming become the new thing, music was something that people loved to ‘own’. Steve Jobs was against the idea of music streaming and he pretty much summed up what music meant to him as well as to many others:
“These services treat you like a criminal. And they are subscription-based and we think subscriptions are the wrong path. One of the reasons we think this is because people bought their music for as long as we can remember. When you own your music it never goes away. When you own your music you have a broad set of personal use rights – you can listen to it however you want.”
Maybe instead of discontinuing the iPod Classic, Apple could have thought of ways to refashion it, adding present-day technology while still keeping the ‘Classic’ look and feel. It probably would have been worth a try. Maybe some day a company might come along and bring back the love for music the way Apple did.
Just when we thought Back to the Future Day couldn’t get any better after the new Hendo Hoverboard news, we find out that Nike has done the impossible! The shoemaking giant has lived up to its name and has finally made the Back to the Future’s self-lacing shoes a reality.
The company had been teasing something big on Twitter a few days ago that got fans all excited. You would be too if you read this tweet.
The tweet was for Micheal J, Fox, who played Marty McFly in Back to the Future. As you all must be knowing by now that October 21, 2015 was celebrated as Back to the Future Day around the world. This is because this is the date to which Marty and Doc Brown travel to in 1989’s Back to the Future II. In the film’s version of 2015, Marty gets a pair of self-lacing Nike Mags sneakers, among other futuristic toys. And yes, they were the coolest kicks in 2015.
On Thursday, Nike made the ‘future’ happen by launching the self-tying shoes in the best way possible: by having Micheal J. Fox try out the first pair. And it was a beautiful sight to see.
Micheal J. Fox was as excited as anyone else about how the ‘future’ has finally arrived, and expressed his joy on Twitter.
The company announced a possible 2016 release for the shoes. The announcement also mentions that the shoes are limited edition models at the present and will first be sold via auction with all the proceeds going to the Michael J. Foundation for Parkinson’s Research some time next year.
“By imagining the future, we create it,” reads the statement from Nike. “Product that comes alive, with on-demand comfort and support when you need, product that senses you and adapts to you is right around the corner.”
Laces on Nike MAG tighten when person slips on shoes, also manually adjustable pic.twitter.com/1l3I9gokGm
It might be a while before these sneakers hit the market, but right now we can simply take pleasure in seeing that the McFly shoes are now a real thing. This is the future, and it looks really good.
With rumours of Samsung Galaxy S7 coming out in January doing the rounds, there are speculations about the specs as well that have been going around for a while now. While it’s expected to have ClearForce technology, similar to 3D Touch, Type-C USB port is another feature expected to be part of the phone.
The latest rumour to develop regarding S7 is a magnesium alloy body made of glass. This is expected to make the device sturdy and improve the over-all touch and feel of the phone. The smartphone is also rumoured to come equipped with better sound quality because of SABRE 9018AQ2M chip by ESS Technology, and a 129 dB signal-to-noise ratio. S7 will probably also support formats like DSD and PCM p to 32-bit and 384 KHz. This will allow users to have the same sound experience streaming music on the phone as they do from its analog counterpart.
These rumours have surfaced at a time when Samsung is possibly working on an acquisition of Tidal, Jay-Z’s music streaming service. Therefore the in-built chip of Galaxy S7 will only serve as a complementary feature and help the flagship fare well in the market. Watch this space as we bring to you more latest updates on Samsung Galaxy S7.
How does a brand behind the S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ continue to innovate after coming out with curved displays that blew its competition away? Of course, we’re talking about Samsung here. We all know that the company is working on its next flagship, the S7. And every little detail about the upcoming phone is welcomed by tech enthusiasts all over. The biggest question on everybody’s mind is how Samsung is going to better itself with the S7.
We have already seen a curved display on the side. So perhaps it’s only logical that the company might curve the screen from somewhere else. How about the top and bottom for a change? Some concept images posted by 3DFuture on its blog show what could be Samsung’s next design. And it looks as sleek as it does futuristic.
Samsung has filed design patents and folks at 3DFuture have released images based on those patents. There is no guarantee that the S7 Edge will follow this design, but visuals are always welcomed. The image above and below reveal a sleek, sharp design where the edged display take the top and bottom position now. The concept also shows no hint of a home button while the volume buttons on the side remain intact. The rest of the design with a full metal unibody oozes style and luxury.
While you take a few minutes analysing the images, we would also like to let you know about other rumours going around. It is likely that Samsung is working on a 3D Touch feature that will be seen in the upcoming flagship. The concepts also support rumours of a fully metallic unibody. Other features could see a 5.8-inch display, UHD resolution, 4GB RAM, and Snapdragon 820 chipset and Exynos processors for East Asian markets.
We will bring you more details on the Galaxy S7 as it comes. Let us know what you think of the concept design in the comments below.
Google is revamping its Google Play Store. A redesigned version of the Play Store began rolling out on Thursday and the changes are quite evident. The homepage has a whole new look to it with horizontal scrolling and improved search features.
One of the first things you’ll notice on opening the new Play Store is the two clearly divided sections: Apps and Games and Entertainment. Previously there were six categories, but now they will be found under these two major sections, which makes it easier to navigate. In the Apps and Games section you’ll find all your social media apps and games, and basically all your chart topping apps for your smartphone and tablets. In the Entertainment section you have your movies, TV shows, news, music, books, and more.
Image: Google
The search and discovery features also come with improvements. You’ll now get better recommendations and more relevant results based on what you’re looking for. Google promises an impressive selection and richer apps in the new Play Store.
The revamped Play Store also comes with a new header that gives room for latest and popular apps, games, movies, books, and more. You can scroll through the suggested apps right from your homescreen and find out what’s trending. It is likely that the apps will also show tailor-made suggestions based on the users Play Store downloads.
Current Version
The new Play Store update will roll out gradually to Android users over the next few weeks.
Some stories can melt your heart in an instant. Disney has always been something for children and the child in you. So, it pleases one to hear that the mass media and entertainment giant will be helping a UK-based start up in making prosthetic hands for children more appealing. And how will Disney help with that? By doing it the Disney way, of course.
Open Bionics is the name of the UK-based start up that focuses on low-cost 3D-printed prosthetics. The company is also a part of Disney’s Techstars Accelerator program. Disney is giving Open Bionics royalty-free licenses to create prosthetics modeled off of Iron Man, Elsa from Frozen, and a glowing, buzzing ‘lightsaber hand’ familiar to millions of Star Wars fans.
But the fun doesn’t just end with the design. It also does things, too. Take the lightsaber hand, for example. You can turn on a set of LED lights that illuminate the prosthetic which also give off the lightsaber-like buzzing sounds. A button also lets you change the saber’s colour because fans know that characters like Luke Skywalker, Yoda and Darth Vader favour different couloured lightsabers.
Similarly, the Iron Man gauntlet will let the child shoot off “rockets”. Well, not really, but with the LED lights and sounds and a vibrating motor it does give off that feeling. But the prosthetics aren’t just expensive toys. They’re made to help the child and provide physical therapy while having fun. The motor gives a haptic feedback to the child when he non-threateningly fires from the Iron Man gauntlet and also serves to indicate the strength of the grip being exerted by the child. Apart from serving a fun light show, the LED lights also lets parents and doctors understand what signals are being sent to the device.
Open Bionics CEO Joel Gibbard told Independent that, “the power of these prosthetics is that the public perception is completely different. All of a sudden they’re not being asked how they lost their hand, they’re being asked where they got their cool robot hand, how does it feel, and how does it work?”
Earlier this year, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) himself paid a visit to a seven-year old boy and gave the kid a custom-made Iron Man prosthetic gauntlet. Watch the video below that is sure to bring a smile to your face today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEx5lmbCKtY
Open Bionics is hoping to make a big difference with these prosthetic hands and is aiming to have them available by the end of next year at a reasonable price of around $500.
World’s first 3D printing pen, 3Doodler, made its debut about two years ago in 2013. Yes, it is what the name suggests – a device that lets you doodle physical objects in thin air. We know what you’re probably thinking:
Shakalaka Boom Boom pencil in the house, boys and girls.
What we’re talking about instead is a prettier, less creepy and more-within-your reach sort of an option. Developed by Peter Dilworth and Maxwell Bogue of WobbleWorks LLC, the updated version of 3Doodler called 3Doodler 2.0 made its debut earlier this year. Began as a Kickstarter campaign in 2013, 3Doodlers make use of plastic thread which is melted, shaped into an object desired by the doodler and then left to cool.
The updated model is a sleeker, lighter and more convenient version of 3Doodler and is available at a price of around Rs.10,000 in India. Surprisingly enough the older model is available on Amazon for about Rs.24,000. 3D doodling can be used for numerous purposes including design, miniature modelling, in architecture and interior designing, for arts and crafts projects, or for creating the best Halloween masks, if all else fails.
For a closer look at the wonders this little device is capable of, take a look at the video below:
At U2’s recent eight-show run at Madison Square Garden, Bono pulled up a woman onstage, handed her a smartphone and announced that they were live streaming the performance onto the internet. The stream was then displayed off a huge feed from U2’s Meerkut account.
At this particular concert, famous talk show host, Jimmy Fallon made a surprise appearance for a duet of “Desire”. This tour also includes messages condemning the 1974 car bombings of Ireland, a call to fight AIDS, Stephen Hawking’s voice, high-tech gimmicks and more than two hours of music that included songs from U2’s 2014 album, “Songs of Innocence”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VWsGG2Z-dI
U2 packs technology into its Innocence and Experience tour by incorporating the smartphone spectacle each night for at least one song. Yet, this isn’t the first of U2’s tech savvy performances. One can recall a stage they had built in the shape of a four-legged spaceship, and now, they have designed a two-sided display that hangs over the arena, providing a good view to each and every person.
The band also used a new form of musical storytelling, they climb up to perform within the display while Bono walks along the base, with displays showing visuals and animation to help create an analogy of him akin to that of walking the street on which he grew up.
But, it is said that the most creative way U2 used technology for this tour is one that cannot be seen. Most touring production companies store visuals directly on the systems they use for running the video screens. The problem with that is, if something needs to be changed, the entire thing would need to be copied to the show system with a pen drive, which might even delay the show.
Image: Rich Fury/Associated Press
U2, is now, using a modern technique for its tour with the help of a cloud storage company called EMC. Therefore, if they need to switch setlists or songs, the team is able to update visuals and deliver them on time. But, because cloud relies on the internet, which may not be available at major venues for security reasons, U2 uses an on-premise tech unit so that they have access to the data even without a web connection. EMC is said to be archiving the HD video streams with their cameras used during the show.
While previously, tours were held to promote music so that an album was successful, nowadays monetizing concerts and merchandise have become more important, as we have seen in Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour, which has an entire line of clothes created with the album’s theme kept in mind. This is said to be done, so that later on, the band can use the footage and decide how to monetize those archives.
The Innocence And Experience tour is definitely said to be a high-tech futuristic event that has been created, not just for fans but anybody who wants to be entertained.
In the early days of the mobile phone revolution, designing a phone required equal consideration for the insides as well as the outsides. Most of us have lived through the era of mobile phones and seen the ecosystem transition into smartphones. During the early developmental stages, we were offered amazing form factors by companies. But since the arrival of the first smartphone (the Apple iPhone), things have gone vanilla. Now we have a massive market for smartphones but apart from a few tweaks and touch-ups, the base form factor has remained the same for the past eight years.
The Nokia N-Gage
One of the most prominent examples of the awe-inspiring design innovations were the Nokia N-series of devices. These devices came in all shapes and sizes, and their maneuverable designs made them a treat worth flaunting. Sony is also remembered for bringing some innovative and audacious form factors in the market, and their Walkman series is remembered for some unique design features. One of the first Android phones, the HTC G1 or the HTC Dream that came out in 2008 had an amazing form factor.
Sony Ericsson W550i
Nokia 5300 Xpressmusic
Nokia E Series
Communicator
The arrival of the first iPhone in 2007 and its success revolutionised as well as standardised the smartphone form factor. Now every company was running to replicate the bar shaped device as the industry had found a direction. Apple still leads the design innovations for the industry which became evident when the Samsung Galaxy S6 was introduced with iPhone 6-esqe speakerphone design. Samsung announced a focus on design for its new flagship and unveiled a glass and metal based bar design. The unique offering in this flagship launch was the S6 Edge which had dual curved edges. The curved edges don’t have any specific utility as of now and it’s there just because Samsung could do it.
For the moment, the device makers seem content with their offerings and haven’t pushed any major boundaries in terms of designer form factors. The rectangular bar shape has now become boring and uninspired in all its present iterations across the varied handsets.
Monohn Runcible prototype is the most unique smartphone form factor currently.
We have seen some audacious concept devices, most of which usually arrive around the time a new iPhone is about to be launched. As of now, the only notable smartphone that is not bar-snapped is the Monohm Runcible, which was showcased at the MWC 2015. The round shape device runs of Firefox OS and is expected to come out by late this year. The device is also unique as it is designed as a lifelong device; you can easily update the specs and pass it on to the next generation as a family heirloom. This kind of device will be valued more than the device that are meant to become outdated in a few months.
motorola piccolo
LG Traveler Concept Phone
Jakub Lekeš Multimedia Concept Phone
Some interesting concept design includes Motorola’s Piccolo Concept, Designer Jakub Lekeš Multimedia Concept Phone, and the LG Traveler Concept Phone. Samsung tried to introduce a new form factor with the Galaxy Golden, but its steep price ensured that it won’t have a long stint at the stores.
There is a space in the market for something unique. As the specifications across the various devices are reaching a point of plateau, some eye-catching design elements can help the companies to reinvigorate the competition in the segment. LG’S Traveller concept looks like something that can be implemented right away.
Innovative new designs will definitely be appreciated amongst the young. Hopefully smartphone makers will take this into account and take up the challenge to introduce something different. While we get flaunt-worthy devices, the companies will get to rake in the profits; a renewed focus on design is a definite win-win for all.
Apple’s new product lineup unveiled at the recent ‘Spring Forward’ event. As expected, the event was mostly dedicated to Apple’s new product family, the Apple Watch. Apart from the Watch, Apple also brought out the new powerful yet slimmer MacBook, which is powered by Intel’s fifth-generation Core M processor.
Intel Core M processor was previously called Broadwell-Y. It is a dual-core chip based on 14 Nm architecture. It has 1.3 billion transistors on its tiny surface. The Core M chipset was launched to reinvent the notebook and looks like Apple has taken a lead in that game with the new MacBook.
Core M is claimed to be one of the most energy efficient processors in the market. It requires 5 watts of power to perform its tasks. On the MacBook, it comes along with Intel HD Graphics 5300. The processor also helped to create a fanless device that would that you won’t be troubled by the never-ending buzz of the notebook’s fan ever again. The logic board is seated on top of an anisotropic graphite sheet, which helps disperse any heat that is generated out to the sides, thus removing the need for the fan.
Core M processor helped in creating miniaturized logic board and offer rest of the space to the battery.
This new processor also helped Apple to miniaturize the hardware components of the MacBook so that the maximum amount of space can be freed up for battery storage. The MacBook comes in two variants in India; one with a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.4 GHz while the other is offered with 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6GHz.
With this launch, Apple has put in its contender in the Intel Core M powered device market. Brands like Lenovo, Dell, HP, Asus and others have already introduced their Core M offerings. Samsung had already gone ahead and launched their fanless notebook called Ativ Book 9 in the market. Now with the Apple MacBook coming into the arena, this space will see some intense competition.
Apple has pioneered a lot of technological advancements that we giddily enjoy today. Think multiple font faces, personal computers and of course, their sweet smartphone. Having made its entry into the wearables segment last year with the Apple Watch, the Cupertino based giant has now patented a design for an action camera.
Apple will take a direct hit at GoPro with this one. In its patent document, the company calls out GoPro’s HD Hero2 cameras for creating “excessive wind resistance’” while mounted, and being “susceptible to damage” from vibrations.
The design of the camera and accompanying wearable.
The new camera design is based on the patents that Apple acquired from Kodak in 2013. This camera can be controlled by a smartwatch. The designs indicate a system of multiple camera sensors that assist the device in covering multiple angles and also multiple directions. The device also describes multiple mounting options like the GoPro; it can be used as a handheld camera and can also be mounted on cars, jibs, bikes, etc. So it checks all the requirements to be an action camera and also comes with a wearable remote.
GoPro’s stock saw significant damage after the news of Apple’s patents. According to CNN Money, the stocks of GoPro fell by 10% on Tuesday. But it shouldn’t be a major cause of concern for GoPro, which is still the king of action cameras. Apple, just like any other major corporation, has a history of acquiring patents which rarely make it to the consumer’s hands. But it did manage to generate hype. GoPros phenomenal success has brought in a barrage of new action cameras like HTC Re, Poloroid Cube Mini, Sony HDR-AS20 HD POV Action Cam and others.
We don’t completely discount the chances of an Apple action camera. As the smartphone market and the wearables segment gets more saturated, companies might look at other areas of interest. Apple can also make use of its Apple watch as a controller, thus increasing its functionality.
