The iPhone 5S May Feature A Full HD FaceTime Camera
The iPhone’s rear facing camera has been constantly improved over the different generations of iPhone smartphones, however, the front facing FaceTime camera was not as fortunate and its improvements are rare and not very spectacular. It would seem that the iPhone 5S will continue to improve the rear facing camera (at least that is what we all think), but also the front facing FaceTime camera. The iPhone 5 came equipped with a front facing camera of 1.2 MP that did not offer a higher resolution or image quality than the iPhone 4S’ front facing camera. The iPhone 4S came equipped with a 0.3 MP VGA camera that was able to shoot in 480p at 30 frames per second. As you know, the jump in quality regarding the front camera, from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 was not that high.
However that might change with the iPhone 5S. The front facing camera used in the iPhone 5 had its camera sensor made by Omnivision. The company has just announced the OV2724 chip. This new chip is the successor to the OV2722 and it is also Omnivision’s smallest sensor (5 by 5 by 3.5 mm). It offers a Full HD (1080p) sensor (2 MP as opposed to the current 1.2 MP that can be found in the iPhone 5) integrated in the chip and this might lead to a next gen iPhone with a Full HD FaceTime camera. Another step up from the previous chips used in the front facing FaceTime camera is that the OV2724 can record at 60 frames per second and will also feature an amazing dynamic range and improved shooting in conditions of low light.
The newest chip from Omnivision will be mass produced this Summer. While this means that for at least a couple of months we won’t see the new Full HD camera in any device, with the recent delay of the iPhone 5S the chip might make it into Apple’s next gen iPhone. This will be a very important upgrade to the iPhone’s front facing camera which, as we already said, stagnated as opposed to the rear facing camera that was considerably improved over time. There are no certainties yet and the announcement of the OV2724 chip does not automatically mean that the iPhone 5S will come equipped with a Full HD FaceTime camera, but it does imply the possibility.
