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iPhone 6 might get optical image stabilization and other enhanced camera features


Apple could score some points with photo enthusiasts with its upcoming iPhone 6 - or at least one variant of it, if reports of a new optical image stabilization feature are accurate.
 
But the feature may be available only to the bigger 5.5-inch variant of the upcoming smartphone and not to the 4.9-inch one, Apple enthusiast site MacRumors said.
 
Citing rumors surrounding the iPhone 6, the site said the new feature will be powered by modules produced by sensor company InvenSense, but will be limited to the bigger model.
 
The new feature would be an improvement over the present software-based image stabilization techniques in the high-end iPhone 5S.
 
"We believe the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 smartphone camera will support optical image stabilization (OIS) and anticipate that it will represent one of several opportunities at Apple that will benefit InvenSense. In our analysis, we believe Apple chose to only include OIS camera technology in the larger iPhone 6 given that there is still a significant cost premium ($4 to $5) over standard auto focus solutions and that it provides a point of differentiation between the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the step-up model (5.5-inch)," it quoted Pacific Crest Securities analysts John Vinh and Kevin Chen as saying.
 
The two analysts noted a cost premium of $4 to $5 for optical image stabilization, a feature that reduces shakes.
 
A third analyst, KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, similarly predicted only the larger model may have optical image stabilization due to supply constraints.
 
While the feature was limited before to traditional digital cameras, phone manufacturers like Google, HTC, and Nokia have been integrating OIS systems into their devices.
 
On the other hand, there is quite a price to pay for the new feature, with MacRumors citing information that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 "might include a $100 price premium over the 4.7-inch version and that it might be the only model to receive a sapphire crystal screen."
 
Also, it said the 4.7-inch iPhone may have a lens module that can offer faster focusing speeds and power efficiency.
 
Meanwhile, Chen and Vinh cited supply chain conversations suggesting the iPhone 6 will support NFC.
 
A separate report on 9to5mac.com said both models of the iPhone 6 may enter production next month, "as recent hiring frenzies at manufacturing partners seem to confirm."  — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
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