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Hope for Optical Image Stabilization in iPhone 6 Revived with Supplier Rumors

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Late last week, shares of InvenSense rose on rumors that the company had won a contract to supply sensors for Apple's upcoming iPhone 6. InvenSense supplies sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes to major phone manufacturers, but the company has yet to publicly land a deal with Apple. The validity of the rumor seems up for debate, however, as a Needham & Company analyst soon released a note saying that he "did not get the impression" from InvenSense's CEO and CFO that such an agreement was in place. Of course, that information would be under a strict non-disclosure agreement with Apple, severely limiting what InvenSense executives could tell the analyst.

Regardless, The Motley Fool speculates on what InvenSense could bring to Apple. While InvenSense could offer drop-in replacements for the current gyroscope and accelerometer sensors in the iPhone, the company also provides Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) technology for mobile phones:
There's one additional socket that InvenSense could win on the iPhone -- an OIS gyroscope. The burgeoning technology is used to improve smartphone camera's by stabilizing the image using a gyroscope. Samsung neglected to use the technology in the Galaxy S5, but Apple may decide to integrate it into the iPhone 6. If it does, InvenSense is a clear choice.
Click to expand...
invensense.png
Image from Electronics 360​
Optical Image Stabilization remains relatively new in the smartphone market, and uses a motion-tracking system to compensate for device shakiness, allowing for sharper photos and video. This video demonstrates the product:

Apple presently offers software-based image stabilization in its iPhone 5s, but has definitely been researching optical image stabilization for the iPhone. Earlier this year, an Apple patent application detailing an OIS system was published. The employee who authored that patent was hired by Apple in 2012 from a company working on the same optical image stabilization technology.

Whether or not Apple is actually planning on incorporating Optical Image Stabilization technology in the next iPhone or not, it's clear the company's engineers are working on it. Historically, Apple has made steady improvements to the iPhone camera with each subsequent generation, and the last several generations have focused on image quality improvements rather than simply increasing megapixel counts.

Article Link: Hope for Optical Image Stabilization in iPhone 6 Revived with Supplier Rumors
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/17/invensense-ois-iphone-6/
Lesser Evets

Lesser Evets

macrumors 68040
Jan 7, 2006
3,527
1,294
The iPhone will become an all-rounder, if Apple pursues tech innovation such as this.

When it comes with large memory (128+ GB), it can be an entertainment center, phone, near-pro camera, jukebox, and internet/email computer, among other things. It takes the place of more and more devices scattered about the home and office which take space and energy.
 
Agent-P

Agent-P

Contributor
Dec 5, 2009
2,502
23
The Tri-State Area
I really hope this makes it into the next iPhone. It's one of those small features from my Lumia 920 that would make the iPhone so much better. The potential for better low light capabilities would be a welcomed addition for me.
 
S

SeenJeen

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2009
381
279
BornAgainMac said:
Apple always makes me feel that prior camera in the iPhone is crap when they introduce the new one.
Click to expand...

Ehh... the quality between snaps from my 4S and 5S aren't dramatic... especially not like going from the 3G to the 4.

But yes, its still a "little" better, and makes me feel like my old phone is a "little" worse :(
 
irnchriz

irnchriz

macrumors 65816
May 2, 2005
1,034
2
Scotland
Wish I was privy to these 'rumours' prior to them breaking, could make a killing on the stock market.

Do these guys ever get investigated for stock manipulation or insider trading??
 
carjakester

carjakester

macrumors 68020
Oct 21, 2013
2,228
55
Midwest
the iPhone always seems to have much clearer photos than most other phones. Glad they are always looking to improve it as most people will always have their phone to take photos.
 
_Refurbished_

_Refurbished_

macrumors 68020
Mar 23, 2007
2,333
3,013
Lesser Evets said:
The iPhone will become an all-rounder, if Apple pursues tech innovation such as this.

When it comes with large memory (128+ GB), it can be an entertainment center, phone, near-pro camera, jukebox, and internet/email computer, among other things. It takes the place of more and more devices scattered about the home and office which take space and energy.
Click to expand...

An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. These are not three separate devices.

I believe this already happened.
 
TimeSquareDesi

TimeSquareDesi

macrumors 6502
Apr 25, 2013
443
253
I'm totes New Yorkian
irnchriz said:
Wish I was privy to these 'rumours' prior to them breaking, could make a killing on the stock market.

Do these guys ever get investigated for stock manipulation or insider trading??
Click to expand...

Probably not because their efforts keep this economic engine oiled. Just how so many "online media companies" (most tech companies nowadays, for that matter) are essentially spying on users but nothing is being done about it.

But I agree with you... Just having a single tip could make you millions....
 
mdelvecchio

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
AppleWarMachine said:
there is always room for improvement on iPhone cameras :D
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i guess, but they represent one of the best in the market, and have for years -- every year the new-iphone's camera is very good, and the rest catch up. the iphone was the first phone widely written about as a replacement for point-and-shoots.
 
mdelvecchio

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
Lesser Evets said:
The iPhone will become an all-rounder, if Apple pursues tech innovation such as this.

When it comes with large memory (128+ GB), it can be an entertainment center, phone, near-pro camera, jukebox, and internet/email computer, among other things. It takes the place of more and more devices scattered about the home and office which take space and energy.
Click to expand...

"when"? it already does and is those things. tho near-pro camera is the most difficult as there isnt enough space on a thin phone to have the lens depth needed for pro-grade glass.

----------
Z8beema said:
Why are the colors so drastically different between the two pictures?
Click to expand...

different cameras, different sensors, different software.

----------
teknikal90 said:
iPhone 6 is becoming more and more into the phone to get
so glad i skipped the 5S
Click to expand...

that is fallacy thinking. you can say the same about the next iterations after the 6....it all depends entirely on where youre at, what you need, and what represents value for you. me, i get immense value out of my 5s, today, and wouldnt want to be running on something older for a year because it would mean losing that value for a year.
 
I

Infinitewisdom

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2012
775
566
Maybe someone in the know could chime in, but what does optical image stab offer that software image stab doesn't already?
 
M

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
SeenJeen said:
Ehh... the quality between snaps from my 4S and 5S aren't dramatic... especially not like going from the 3G to the 4.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Neither does deliver the 5s significantly better image quality than the 5, either.

Of course the

- significantly higher burst framerate,
- the somewhat wider lens (but still not as wide as that of all the other flagships, particularly not in HD / Full HD video mode - in video, it still uses around 36mm equiv FoV, while top cameraphones like the Nokia 808 or 1020 have the, for social videos, much-much better 26-27mm)
- the dynamic exposure changing during pano
- the somewhat brighter lens
- the better flash

are GREAT in the 5s.
 
arn

arn

macrumors god
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
16,363
5,795
Infinitewisdom said:
Maybe someone in the know could chime in, but what does optical image stab offer that software image stab doesn't already?
Click to expand...

optical has better quality.

software, you are manipulating the image to stabilize it, after the fact. Whether that's averaging across pictures, or cropping the picture and stablizing a crop of the photo.

optical, the lens is physically tracking at the time.

arn
 
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