Technology

iPhone 8 may support 4K video recording from both front and back cameras

A new piece of info doing the rounds off late has to do with the iPhone 8’s video recording capabilities. The phone (which itself is still a rumor albeit a rather strong one) could possibly support 4K video recording via both its rear and selfie camera modules.

The leak seems to have originated from Portuguese website iHelp which posted a snapshot of some source code taken from Apple’s voice-focused device Homepod. Upon inspection, the code lines contain the following entries:

-[CamCaptureCapabilities is4K60VideoSupportedForDevice:]

-[CamCaptureCapabilities isBack4K60VideoSupported]

-[CamCaptureCapabilities isFront4K60VideoSupported]

Homepod Firmware Source Code

Homepod Firmware Source Code

The lines further hint at video recording being supported at 60 FPS. While it’s certainly possible for the rear camera to do 4K at 60 FPS, seeing as the iPhone 7 (and many smartphones these days) can do 4K at 30 FPS, the ability of the front camera to be able to do so seems dubious at best. While Apple could implement support for 60 FPS via a software update to iOS in the future, kind of how OnePlus added 4K EIS or Electronic Image Stabilization after the phone’s launch, it seems unlikely that Apple will resort to this tactic. That said, the company hasn’t shied away from updating camera performance in the past through software updates, with the most notable update being for last year’s Portrait Mode. For now, it seems like we’ll have to take this rumor with a slight pinch of salt, as interesting as it may seem.

Apple’s iPhone 8 leaks have continued to pour in steadily, a far cry from the early days which saw iPhone details being kept top secret. In other news, the iPhone 8 seems to have entered mass production so it’s all but a given at this stage that we’re going to see this additional third iPhone. This news also means that the chances of leaks about the highly anticipated device are going to increase in the next few days; don’t be surprised if short videos of iPhone 8 models in operation start popping up from these assembly factories.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, which would be upgrades to its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus line from last year, later this year in September. Additionally, a third more expensive model dubbed by the internet as the iPhone 8 is also expected to be announced at the same event in lieu of Apple’s 10-Year iPhone anniversary. This new device is believed to be a significant upgrade over its predecessors and might even see the biggest overhaul in the iPhone line-up since the iPhone 6. At a rumored price of over $1,000, it could also cost a lot.