A new patent filing reveals that Apple is working on a new dual camera zoom lens system that could be incorporated into future iOS devices. Patently Apple reports on patent application 20160007008, simply titled “Mobile Camera System” which describes methods and systems by which multiple cameras can be used to provide an effective optical zoom. Some of the concepts include using two cameras to capture separate images of different visual fields, while others suggest that the cameras would employ different focal lengths to achieve similar results.
The patent also describes images being combined or preserved to the storage medium as separate data structures for later processing. The patent also interestingly suggests that the solution could be applied to a desktop computer with a camera or even a “gaming computer with orientation sensors” suggesting that Apple may have more far-reaching goals for this technology.
In other news, Apple also released its annual SEC proxy filing, outlining its executive compensation. Most notably, the filing shows that Apple CEO Tim Cook received only $10.3m in compensation in 2015 — less than Apple’s other top executives, although the amount is an increase from his 2014 compensation.
An analysis by VentureBeat notes that the lower compensation results at least partially from Cook rewriting the rules for vested stock units back in 2013, tying them much more closely to whether Apple meets its targets or not.
In a radio interview with Conversations on Health Care, Apple COO Jeff Williams discussed how Apple has come under attack for the use of child labor in its supply chains, but said Apple draws more discussion than most corporations because the company actually works to “shine a light” on child labor practices and do something about it. He notes that Apple goes out searching for cases where an underage worker is found in a factory somewhere and then takes “drastic actions with the supplier and the labor groups to try and make a change.” He contrasted this with other companies that basically don’t want to talk about or be associated with child labor practices and are therefore content to hide their heads in the sand and pretend it’s not really a problem that affects them.
