The world’s most respected Apple analyst has made yet another prediction about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 Plus. The Cupertino company is expected to launch the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus later this year. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a research note to investors that there will be a premium version of the premium iPhone 7 Plus. And this special version will have a dual-camera system based on LinX technology.
A special version of iPhone 7 Plus for pro photographers
Rumors of an iPhone with the dual-camera system have been doing rounds since last year when Apple acquired Israeli startup LinX Imaging for $20 million. In June 2015, LinX showed off its first multi-aperture cameras for smartphones. The iPhone 7 Plus could benefit from LinX in a variety of ways, including multiple sensors of smaller sizes that could eliminate the need for a protruding camera lens.
Using two distinct lenses would allow Apple to collect more image data to create much better quality photos. Kuo told investors that the special version of the iPhone 7 Plus will also feature an optical zoom with 2-3x magnification. The KGI Securities analyst made it clear that the dual-camera system will not appear in the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 or the standard 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.
The dual-camera iPhone 7 will have a higher price tag
The feature will be reserved for a special version of 7 Plus that will have a higher price tag than the standard 7 Plus. One of the cameras will support a wide field of view and optical image stabilization, while the second one is a telephoto lens with a narrower field of view. The analyst said the dual-camera system will capture images from both cameras and then use LinX algorithms to combine them into a final image for users to see.
KGI Securities noted that the premium dual-camera variant of iPhone 7 Plus will be in short supply initially. So, it will account for only 25% to 35% of the total iPhone 7 Plus shipments in 2016. Earlier, Kuo predicted that the Cupertino company would ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack to reduce the thickness of its next-gen phone to just 6-6.5mm.
