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KGI: iPhone 7 Plus likely to feature dual-camera system for better photos using LinX tech, 2-3x optical zoom

iphone-dual-camera

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo at KGI securities is today reporting that they believe the iPhone 7 Plus will come with a dual-camera system option with Linx camera technology Apple acquired last year. By using two distinct lenses, Apple can use the additional image data to create substantially better quality photos. Dual camera iPhones have been rumored for a long time. KGI also floats the possibility that the Plus will feature an optical zoom, with 2-3x magnification.

The KGI report makes it plain that not all iPhone 7 models will feature the radically new camera. It appears the 4.7 inch iPhone 7 will not feature the technology. It will be reserved for specific versions of the 5.5 inch iPhone 7 Plus …

KGI goes on to say that it might not even be available on all iPhone 7 Plus models. Apple may make a distinction at the high end to create a ‘premium’ SKU that includes the advanced camera system. The report claims one of the cameras will support optical image stabilization and a wide field of view, whereas the other is a telephoto lens with a significantly narrower field of view.

At this early stage, Apple may also be considering two separate options for the iPhone 7 Plus, only one of which will make it to production. Apple typically waits for ‘S’ years to upgrade camera capabilities.

Rumors about dual camera designs started before the iPhone 6s launched, as Apple bought the Linx camera tech firm around that time. It’s worth noting the top image is just a mockup of a two-camera system, Apple will undoubtedly incorporate the lens system into the iPhone chassis with more elegance.

The dual-camera setup would take independent photos from both camera holes and use ‘Linx Imaging’ algorithms to combine the photo data into final images for users to see. KGI expects about 30% of iPhone 7 shipments to be equipped with dual-camera system. This would be a marked change for Apple’s iPhone range, where the 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch models have been practically equivalent aside from the screen size difference and video optical image stabilization. It sounds like Apple will further distinguish the products with the iPhone 7, making the ‘Plus’ a more premium option.

KGI-iphone-7-dual-camera

Sony is again expected to be the main supplier of the 12MP camera module(s) which is no surprise – the Japanese company all but owns the high end smartphone camera sensor market.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is expected later in the year, around fall. Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone soon however … the 4 inch ‘iPhone 5se‘ is rumored to launch around March.

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Comments

  1. A Dimension Of Mind - 8 years ago

    Can’t imagine they’d split the 7Plus into two lines, those with dual camera and those without. I’m on the 6sPlus currently and I don’t think I’ll ever downsize again so I’m a lock for the 7Plus. If rumours are true about the new 4inch having a decent A9 spec, Apple could be onto a winner with a new spectrum of iPhone, especially tempting the large number of 4s/5/5s hold outs.

    It’d be great to see iPhone mini, iPhone (4.7″), and iPhone Plus/Pro (might get pro if the specialist camera rig was exclusive to it) joining iPad Mini, iPad (they could drop the Air) and iPad Pro moving forward 😊

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      I think you’re right – 3 sizes of iPad, 3 sizes of iPhone. And maybe they’ll swap ‘+’ for ‘pro’… if the camera is good enough to warrant it, why not.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        Absolutely not worth pro. Never will be.

  2. -MaK- - 8 years ago

    IF a 4″ iPhone and these rumors become reality, it’s time for iPhone Mini, iPhone and iPhone Pro naming. Would make perfect sense!

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      It does feel logical doesn’t it – clean things up a bit and parity with iPad.

      If they loose the MacBook air, the laptop line will be cleaned up too. New 14″ MacBook makes for two MacBooks and two MacBook Pros.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      Pro does not make sense. A Pro uses a DSLR not an iPhone. End of story. These dual sensors will come to all models eventually, the ONLY reason they will be limited is due to supply. They can’t supply all 100 million shipments with 2 sensors each, that is what you can intelligently take away from this.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        There have been multiple stories of the iPhone being used to shoot professional film shoots and editorials. An even better camera than the ones we have would certainly be pro.

        ONLY reason they will be limited is due to supply

        and then the same will happen the next year when it’s an even better camera, and the year after than, and then the iPhone pro becomes the must have iPhone for the top of the line camera because the normal iPhone will always be behind.

        But also there isn’t really that much demand for the camera to get better from normal consumers. To make the “camera” marketable to consumers this year they had to introduce a gimmick like live photos because no one actually cares about MP count or sensor blah blah blah. I bet even the front facing flash was more of a selling point than that.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        A lot of people care about the camera. The people that don’t care about the camera are professional photographers that have their own professional DSLRs that blow the iPhone camera out of the water, and always will.

        Now, I have to also say that there are future reasons for the camera to become even better, and those are for sensors. Augmented reality, measuring distances, mapping depths, etc.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        The people that don’t care about the camera are professional photographers that have their own professional DSLRs

        Why a pro photographer shoots on an iPhone

        The reason is basically the same as why consumers cared about the iphone camera even though many of them already had point-and-shoots. It’s the camera that’s always on you.

        The difference is that consumers are content with point and shoot quality and the iphone has already reached that point. Now, a Pro iphone is going to get more and more professional photographers (and prosumers, like you) to take it seriously.

        You can’t just keep shoving the best into something and expect that it’s what everyone wants. Most people are really happy with the camera and it probably will continue to improve a little each year but it’s no longer a selling point to the mass market. It could not improve at all next year and people will still happily buy a new iphone if it has other features or looks cooler. Many People now would also prefer the iphone become more affordable but not feel like they are getting something old or cheap.

        To keep innovating profitably, Apple needs to focus on the smaller part of the market that will invest more money in fancy new technology.

        If and when Apple pushes the fancy pro thing to a point where it enables new things that consumers would be interested like, “sensors. Augmented reality, measuring distances, mapping depths, etc.”,, Apple will trickle those technologies down to the consumer device once they find manufacturing efficiency (so there aren’t supply constrains) and it becomes cost effective enough (so it can be sold at consumer pricing).

        In the mean time they will need to find other things to focus on marketing to consumers. My guess will be focusing on differentiating form factor like they do with the macbook and macbook pro.

        This free’s the iphone pro to not have to get thinner every year. The pro can be the power house with extra battery and a great camera while the more consumer facing phone can become sleeker and more attractive because that’s what drives consumer sales when they are in a store and see a shiny new phone on the shelf.

        Man I didn’t think I’d have to argue this hard about this given that it’s how apple has operated for so damn long. It’s not new… It’s just new for the iphone since it was so young and was going through growing pains.

  3. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    Wasn’t there another dual camera rumor last week you guys reported on?

  4. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    Both iPhone 7 and 7 Plus should be exactly the same phone with exactly the same hardware except the size and the battery. Why? Because Apple has always said things like ‘iPad Mini is a different product to iPad, iPhone 6 is a different product to iPhone 6 Plus, etc.’ And when they said that, I knew iPad Mini 2 was going to get the latest Apple chip, just like the iPad Air. And so this should also apply for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. If one gets a feature that the other one does not, it’s like one phone is the Pro version and the other one tve regular version. While the goal of the ‘Plus’ iPhone was always to offer another experience through the bigger display.

    They should just add it to the iPhone once they’re able to add the feature to both phones.

  5. tomtubbs - 8 years ago

    When does the final design get locked down for iPhones presumably shipping in 7 months?
    Hopefully we will see more rumours about this dual camera feature – the patents and rumours have been going on for years and it would be a huge leap for iPhone photographs – clearness of picture and video. Wonder if they could bring OIS and digital image stabilisation to 4K?
    Sure Apple has some sway in getting leaks denied if they’re completely misguiding people’s expectations. Is going to be obvious once back parts of the iPhone, cases and other components start leaking

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      Right now there is still 4-6 protypes they are working on. Some have Use Lightning for the headphones, some use USB-C.

      The 7 plus is supposed to have an extra GB of RAM over the 4.7″ version.

      To answer your question it’s usually May or June before they start the various stages of test manufacturing and nail down the components the phone will have.

  6. Robert - 8 years ago

    The Apple patent we saw recently described a more elegant idea. Two lens merged into one, so it does not look like two cameras from the outside but there are two camera modules on the inside. Optical zoom and many other benefits.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      I’ve said numerous times what looks the most elegant with this which is 2 sensors side-by-side under an oval lens. Imagine the current camera except horizontally a few mm wider. ( )

  7. triankar - 8 years ago

    I hope Apple doesn’t make it a trend to differentiate cameras according to phone size: the bigger the phone (physically), the better the camera.

    If I could have the 4 inch iPhone with the better camera, I’d sure choose it over the 5.5 inch slipper.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      This is due to internal space. It’s not magic that produces these phones, they are governed by the laws of physics, and physics dictates that there is a finite volume of space inside the devices.

  8. mytawalbeh - 8 years ago

    I am excited about this rumor!
    But new naming or category would be a lot confusing, I would prefer to see the iPhone 7 or 7+ so everyone can easily remember, unlike the android phones “Gsfjh;jgg kjfghkdfg edge surface plus” wth!

  9. moushu - 8 years ago

    Not sure if this is just an oddity with the wording of this, but.. “The report claims one of the cameras will support optical image stabilization and a wide field of view, whereas the other is a telephoto lens with a significantly narrower field of view” – actually, if OIS is only going into one of the lenses then it really needs to be in the telephoto, not the wide-angle.
    Also, a move into telephoto really highlights the lack of ability to alter the aperture in iPhone to date, and will continue to mean we have to work around the limitations of using an iPhone in photography.
    And something still needs to be done with what’s effectively “shutter lag” with the imaging system, especially when using flash.
    Don’t get me wrong on this, I love my iPhone 6s and taking photos with it (some on https://500px.com/moushu), but most of the time I’m putting significant conscious effort into working around its limitations.

  10. Robert - 8 years ago

    Perhaps the iPhone line-up should look something like this:

    iPhone Air = 4 inch screen, practically no bezels, disappears in your shirt pocket. Pushing boundary of how much tech you can get into little space.

    iPhone = 4.7 inch screen

    iPhone Pro = 4.7 inch screen, advanced camera system, maybe thicker with larger battery, other ‘Pro’ features

    iPhone Pro Plus = 5.5 inch screen, advanced camera system, other ‘Pro’ features

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      iPhone Pro Plus? Good thing you aren’t with marketing. Pro should never be attached to an iPhone name.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      I think it’s pretty clear the air moniker is going to die pretty soon. I think the macbook naming is pretty telling. Macbook and macbook pro. I could see the lines looking like this:

      macbook: 12″ and 14″
      macbook pro: 13″ and 15″
      ipad: 7.9″ and 9.7″
      ipad pro: 9.7″ and 12.9″
      iphone: 4″ and 4.7″
      iphone pro: 4.7″ and 5.5″

      maybe it won’t happen but it would fit the macbook pattern

  11. Lee Pierce - 8 years ago

    This is going to alienate me as an iPhone user. I don’t want a Phablet in my pocket but I’d like the features included. I would consider looking into other devices if the only way I can get “premium features” would be with a monster sized phone in my pocket. I have the 6 now and honestly, I’m believing this is too big.

    • William Reid - 8 years ago

      I have the 6S i love it, but do not want a bigger phone. If they do this i’ll be leaving IOS.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      This is going to alienate me as an iPhone user.

      You still get a camera – it’s just not going to the better-than-most-iphone-users need one.

      In a way, you are alienating yourself by demanding more than what most iphone users need. Is the camera on the 6s really not good enough for you? Are you a professional photographer looking to ditch your DSLR in more situations?

      The 13″ macbook pro can’t be purchased with a discrete graphics card. As a animator – that’s a total deal breaker to me so I’d have to get the 15″. The thing is I wouldn’t want to do motion graphics on a 13″ screen anyway. If you are a Pro photographer than the size shouldn’t be a big deal. You have a bigger view finder, a better way to check and show off your photos, a bigger screen to fit UI for photo editing apps and the iPhone is still way smaller than a dslr.

      An improved camera is a speck bump of an existing feature. I think if the 6s plus got 3d-touch and the 6s didn’t than that would be something that alienates people who expected to get all the same features.

      You just need to ask yourself what you value more. Camera or Size. I’d be fine with a 5s camera if they made a 4″ phone with 3d-touch.

  12. tylercohn - 8 years ago

    Though it would be ideal to have the iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus to have all the same features, it wouldn’t be ideal. Just imaging doubling the camera module in the already battery stricken iPhone 6s. Even if they optimize the phone and software, you’d most likely get a hit in battery life. Most already complain about battery so you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      They already don’t. Not sure why people are acting like this is new.

      For everyone’s information: the iPhone Plus has OIS, the iPhone does not.

  13. usmansaghir - 8 years ago

    I hope this is true. Even though Apple has come a long way with its camera. But i would love Apple to really come out and differentiate itself from not just between iPhones but between the rest of the market. The camera being one of the main functions of a phone should be more important then services provided by Apple! Also lets not forget the battery. Please please stop making us all beg for a battery life that can last for a full day with full maximum usage.

  14. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    call it what you want but Apple’s iphone plus models are already the iphone pro. Makes sense to me. I can’t imagine a lot of people actually caring about the camera getting much better at this point. It’s well beyond what most people need.

    • RP - 8 years ago

      it’s the most used camera, and the rated on of the best. People care. The camera is a fn deal for a lot of folks.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        They cared a lot when it was really dramatic increase in performance and all the android cameras were bad or overly complicated. It’s also probably so popular because it’s a device you can share from directly and big social networks like instagram and snap chat are more popular on iOS.

        But how many people actually care because they are taking good high quality photos and not just pics of their brunch or late?

        That doesn’t mean apple should stop innovating or that it’s not good if the camera keeps improving, just that that isn’t going to be a selling point to a lot of people anymore. It’s why apple has to diversify the line. iPhones aren’t the fast growing sprites they used to be where we just had to have the best one to be satisfied.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      That’s hysterical. First of all, nothing about the iPhone Plus is even remotely something you could call Pro over the iPhone, secondly you are fine with the current camera abilities? That’s absurd. Being ‘fine’ with something would be the stopping point of innovation.

      The camera isn’t well beyond what anyone needs. The camera needs this, and much much more after this.

      P.S. Aside from the size of the phone being a factor in whether it can house 2 sensors, there is the far more important and limiting factor of whether or not Apple can supply that many camera sensors. The problem is Apple cannot supply enough camera sensors for more than the iPhone Plus.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        ok cool, you are a prosumer. You’ll be there to buy up the latest and greatest and of course apple isn’t going to hold still they’ll keep pushing it but the further they push the more consumers will start to loose interest after this point and would rather their phones got cheaper instead.

        Apple had to come up with gimmicky shit like live photos and front facing flash to get consumers interested in the iPhone 6s’ “camera”. You think most people give a crap that the photos are 12mp now? They can’t even see the difference and they are posting them to snap chat, Facebook, and instagram anyway. You can’t even friggen zoom into photos on instagram and it’s like the number one photo sharing app. it’s all getting compressed and shrunk down anyway. No one shoots 4k, no one wants to edit in 4k, no one has 4k Tvs. So if all Apple had to say about the camera this year, than apple would have had nothing to say to most of the people who buy iPhones.

  15. RP - 8 years ago

    It will certainly get people on the fence for an “up-sale”. With camera as one of my most used feature, It would certainly motivated me to spend a little more.

  16. Joseph Mireles - 8 years ago

    I just want better battery life, and more ram so I can frikkin switch between apps without them having to constantly refresh on me. I have a Cydia app that allows whichever apps i choose to stay full-running in the background, but the limited 1GB ram causes the programs im running to become laggy because not enough ram :|

  17. That is so stupid! Why does Apple want to FORCE people that want the best tech in their phones to get ungodly huge phones. I love the size of the 4.7″ iPhone but the Plus is just too big. First they keep us from getting optical image stabilization and now if we want to get dual camera lenses we have to get not only the huge phone but pay an extra fee on top of it! I love apple products but this is starting to get crazy.

    • jonathanjk - 8 years ago

      Calm down, this is a rumour, Apple hasn’t done anything. Worry about other things in life.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      Multiple reasons govern this. The larger the device, the more internal space to play with. Also, Apple may very well not have anywhere near the component supply to do it in every phone yet.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      picture If there wasn’t a larger iPhone on sale… then this better technology wouldn’t even be possible, yet you’d be happy.

      Either be happy knowing you have the best camera that fits in the size you want or be happy apple is giving you the option to get an even better camera. It’s all in how you frame it.

  18. frankbond007 - 8 years ago

    All i want for the next iphone camera is to have dslr like depth of field and great low light capability

  19. sally (@FedGoat) - 8 years ago

    another useless gimmick….
    we can’t think of anything else, let’s just add one more camera and take a break til 2017

  20. I really hope this isnt true. Plus is just too big and I dont want to have to choose between a phone thats too big with an awesome camera and a ‘correctly sized’ one that has a worse camera :(

  21. Haneul Bae (@Haneul_Bae) - 8 years ago

    Is it necessary to split the line-up of iphone plus model?

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Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.