[CNET]

Apple’s iPhone and iPad cameras aren’t necessarily the best options on the market, but the Cupertino, Calif.-based company might be changing that in the coming years.

Patently Apple yesterday found an Apple patent application describing a way in which cameras in iOS-based devices would snap 3D images. According to the blog, which tracks all Apple patents and applications, the technology would utilize “depth-detection sensors,” like radar and lidar, and use the latest and greatest luminance sensors to recreate an image’s color as accurately as possible. By the time the picture is taken, it’ll deliver a full 3D image.

The fact that Apple is thinking about 3D implementation on the iPhone and iPad isn’t necessarily a surprise, given the importance the third dimension has taken on across the industry. At this point, it’s hard to find a television that doesn’t come with 3D support. And across the mobile space, more and more companies are starting to integrate 3D features.  …

Read the full story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57406963-17/apple-patent-pitch-hints-at-3d-imaging-on-iphone-ipad/