A new rumor says that Apple is exploring the use of multi-spectral camera technology, which could be a boon for iPhone photography but may also aid Visual Intelligence.
The Visual Intelligence feature in Apple Intelligence keeps improving, whether it's describing what the camera is showing, or it's working from screengrab images. Leaker Digital Chat Station claims that Apple is looking to eventually add multi-spectral camera systems, and one benefit of this would be for Visual Intelligence.
Multi-spectral imaging captures image data across different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. All iPhone cameras to date have focused on the red, green, and blue (RGB) elements visible to the human eye.
By capturing more of the spectrum, Visual Intelligence could perform better object and background detection. It could improve depth perception, meaning that Visual Intelligence could better recognize spatial environments.
It could also aid regular photography, though, by bringing options for better image processing. It could perhaps be used for infra-red photography.
All of t his would extend the iPhone's camera capabilities dramatically — but none of it is likely to appear soon. Digital Chat Station says only that Apple is interested in the technology.
The rest of his or her post on Weibo claims that the iPhone 18 Pro's camera system will have a variable aperture. The leaker also says that the 2026 model's telephoto lens will have a larger aperture than the current iPhone 17 range.
Note that Digital Chat Station has been accurate about Apple before, but only sporadically.
Separately, reports say that the 20th anniversary iPhone in 2027 could get a greatly-improved camera sensor. It won't be a multi-spectra system, but it's been claimed that Apple will add Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor (LOFIC) technology.
What LOFIC does is effectively improve how the camera captures details at both high and low light levels.
