Apple exploring new multi-camera optical zoom system for future iPhones

According to the application, Apple's system utilizes two cameras with different focal lengths. When users take a photo, the device would actually capture two images simultaneously.

In some cases, Apple imagines capturing two still photos. In others, one camera would store a still image while the other would store a short video, similar to the existing Live Photo feature.

Both images — whether still or video — would then be combined to create a new image depending on the user's zoom preferences.

This system is not unlike that used to capture three-dimensional images, which is itself modeled on the way human depth perception operates. Multiple lenses (human eyes) see the same image from slightly different perspectives, and a computer (the brain) combines them to create a single view.

A multi-camera — or at least multi-lens — iPhone has long been rumored. Previous Apple patents have detailed a single-sensor, multi-lens camera system as well as a multi-sensor 3D camera.

Last year, Apple acquired multi-sensor imaging firm LinX Imaging for a reported $20 million.

Apple credits Claus Molgaard and Iain A. McAllister with the invention of U.S. Patent Application No. 14/788386.