Apple Could Introduce Bayonet Mounts for Interchangeable iPhone Camera Lenses

By Prarthito

| Published: Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 17:07 [IST]

Apple is finding out ways to make its newest iPhone stand out among the rest. And going by the leaks surrounding the same, it seems like a lot of new technology and features could be incorporated into the new device. And, as it seems from a latest rumor, the next iPhone could arrive with interchangeable camera lenses with support for bayonet mounts.

While nothing related to the next iPhone has to be taken with a pinch of salt as of now since nothing has been made official about the device, reports are claiming that Apple is currently looking into the use of bayonet lens mounts - one of the most common lens attachment mechanisms used in modern photography - for the next iPhone that's currently in line to arrive this year.

Apple To Introduce Bayonet Mounts for Changeable iPhone Camera Lenses

Image Courtesy: Apple Insider

The new mechanism related to the upcoming iPhone has been attained via an Apple patent that was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday. The patent describes a certain mechanism via which an iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPod, could be fitted with a bayonet mount onto which various lens types could then be attached.

Noted in Apple's U.S. Patent No. 8,687,299 for "Bayonet attachment mechanisms," the report from Apple Insider stated that "the bayonet mount is both utile and aesthetically pleasing, two attributes paramount in any Apple product design."

"The mount correctly aligns and securely attaches lenses to a device body while keeping a relatively inconspicuous profile when not in use."

Apple states that other such mount types, similar to cases with built-in screw mounts, alter the overall design of a device and therefore could be undesirable from a consumer's perspective.

And although even magnetic mounts can be disguised to be a part of a device, but the method may not be as secure as a physical interlock and may eventually result in misaligned lenses.

Instead, "Apple proposes a bayonet-style solution integrated with a device's rear-facing camera bezel. As seen above, the iPhone-side bayonets are substantially hidden within the camera surround, which would protrude slightly above the rear case," the report adds.

"A lens element with interleaving bayonets can be aligned via a guide dot and rotated until a secure interference hold is achieved."

Apple's bayonet mount patent was first filed for authetication back in 2012 and credits Emery A. Sanford and Dominic C. Toselli as its inventors.