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Next Gen iPhone getting ready to flash you?

By Joshua Schnell Sun, Jan 10, 2010 @ 1:55 PM

iPhone 3G Universal Dock by icatus 201x300 Next Gen iPhone getting ready to flash you?The rumour mill is suggesting that Apple is looking to add a new feature to the next generation of the iPhone. This feature will only be employed where darkness abounds. Its sudden appearance may shock you and scar your eyes. Things that were shrouded will suddenly be laid bare for all to see. It will likely reveal more than you would like to see – the skin, the hair, the jiggly bits….the horror.

No, Apple is not including its very own flasher app. Rumours suggest Apple will likely be building an LED flash into the next generation of the iPhone. This feature will help capture better quality photos in dimly lit areas and help the iPhone compete with other smart phones that already have this feature, including Palm’s Pre and the new Nexus One by Google.

This rumour is supported by claims that Apple is looking to purchase millions of LED flash components this year. Philips’ Lumileds Lighting sector is largely considered to be the most likely candidate for designing this new feature. Their LUXEON flash LED technology leads LED technology for mobile phone cameras and outcompetes Xenon flash performance for phones.

Such a move shouldn’t come as a real surprise. It is an obvious upgrade as would be any other incremental improvements to the camera features of the iPhone.

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  • http://YourNexusOne.com Alice

    Big deal: a simple $5 LED bulb that doesn’t really light up even *ONE* room full of people.

    • http://macgasm.net Josh Schnell

      Sounds like every other cell phone on the market, including the nexus one… doesn’t it? No matter what, a flash on a cellphone isn’t going to be as good as a Nikon SB800. It will however take a crappy camera and make it slightly better.

  • Mark

    You teased me with the headline. I was hoping Apple would roll out support for Adobe flash.

    When will that ever come, btw?

    • http://macgasm.net Joshua Schnell

      Hah, sorry about that.

      At the rate that Apple Inc. spouts off disdain for flash I’d bet the answer is never. I’m not really sure that it’s all that integral for success on a mobile platform. If more companies started doing as youtube does and automatically serve up compatible content, we probably wouldn’t even notice.

      I think the real worry over at Apple might be the onslaught of Flash games and apps to the appstore. They’d certainly end up losing some control of their device, and that’s something that Apple Inc has refused to do historically.