What's in store for the iPhone 8 camera?

iPhone 7 Plus camera assembly

Many of the leaks surrounding the 10th anniversary iPhone have centered around wireless charging and changes to the display. Besides offering an AMOLED screen, Apple is expected to completely redesign the iPhone 8 with a curved display. Other reports point to the demise of the bezel and home button, with concepts showing simply an all-glass front panel. But what about the iPhone 8 camera? Reports indicate that Apple will continue to improve the camera by leaps and bounds.

There are several fronts on which Apple looks to be adding new features and improving quality when it comes to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cameras. In addition to routine image quality enhancements, these areas have surfaced from sources in the know.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Business Insider reports that Apple is making a push into AR with several startups it acquired recently. Not only is the company working on AR glasses, but the iPhone 8 camera may include AR features for iOS users. For example, by just aiming the Camera app at an object it could be recognized and identified to deliver information to the user. Other data can be projected in real-time over a live image, such as directions for navigation. Seamless AR meshes digital imagery with one's surroundings.

New model with dual lenses

The iPhone 8 Plus will ship in two different flavors, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. While the iPhone 8 will continue to have one camera, two different Plus models will offer dual-camera setups. An iPhone 8 Plus with AMOLED display will be the flagship model and may come in a slightly different size thanks to a curved display. The standard LCD iPhone 8 Plus would be 5.5-inch diagonal and include the telephoto and standard cameras that shoot as one.

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)

Apple plans to add OIS to the telephoto lens in the iPhone 8 Plus. Current dual-camera modules only include OIS on the standard focal length lens. Including OIS on both lenses will not only increase image quality, but the optical zoom range could be increased beyond the current 2X. With less camera shake and a higher optical zoom, the iPhone 8 Plus would be capable of capturing sharp images from further away. Ming-Chi Kuo also believes adding OIS to the telephoto lens will require Apple to completely redesign the module, and will result in a more complex assembly process.

Look for more iPhone 8 news ahead of the official release coming in late 2017.