Apple has applied for a new patent (U.S. Patent 8,593,564) that covers the idea of making a camera in the iPhone that can adjust the focus after the picture is taken. How many times have you taken pictures that turn out to be out of focus or the auto-focus chose the wrong thing on which to focus? This technology would solve that.
It’s not a new technology though: we’ve seen this sort of technology in the Lytro. This was more of a proof of concept than anything serious though since the photos weren’t very good quality and it was quite large. Apple has mentioned the Lytro in their patent application though, citing it as prior art. Apple wants to patent the idea of putting this technology into phones, with a smaller sensor and better quality images.
Don’t expect this sort of thing for the iPhone 6: even if Apple dedicated a lot of resources to it, we’d still probably be waiting a good few years for this technology. And it’s entirely probable that Apple won’t act on it immediately, as is the case with previous patents that have been awarded.
