Last week, an early build of Apple’s HomePod firmware was shared on Apple’s developer website. Guilherme Rambo has been digging around the strings in a library file to find hints about the next iPhone. He found out that the next iPhone could automatically detect the type of scene you’re looking at and adjust the camera setting.
I looked around the strings in the speaker firmware and I can confirm that there are multiple references to smart camera settings, just like the one Rambo mentioned on Twitter:
Smart camera settings aren’t completely new when you think about it. If you’ve been using an iPhone for a while, you know that there’s a setting that lets you automatically enable high-dynamic range (HDR) if you’re looking at a bright scene with some dark elements. The “BrightStage” string seems connected to this auto HDR feature.
But other strings indicate that Apple is now able to recognize a wide range of scenes and objects. You can find references to the following settings: baby, beach, concert, fireworks, foliage, forest, mountains, ocean, pet, sky, snow, sport, starry, sunset and sunrise.
The camera framework can also detect documents and QR codes. Apple already talked about these two things at its WWDC developer conferences. But it’s interesting to see that Apple plans to go beyond QR codes and documents.
Rumor has it that Apple has been working on not one, not two but three different iPhone models. In early September, the company should be announcing a more powerful iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, as well as a brand new super premium phone. This rumored “iPhone 8” is going to feature a taller screen that is going to completely fill the front of the device, except for the speaker, camera and sensors at the top: