iPhone 11 Could Soon Have Made-For-iPhone Photography Strobe To Augment iPhone's Flash

Apple’s iPhone 11 series could soon use photography accessories like flash and strobe that connect through the built-in Lightning connector of the iPhone, a new report claims. The Cupertino tech giant reportedly shared the new specs of these photography accessories to manufacturers on its initiative called Made For iPhone (MFI) licensing program. These specs could pave the way for future accessories like an MFI battery case with a built-in flash.

The latest initiative by the Cupertino company will enable the strobe or lighting component of an accessory to sync with iPhone 11’s integrated flash. Additionally, it could wirelessly relay the strobe sync signal to other accessories. Theoretically, the Lightning connection could enable attachments to draw or supply power over Lightning at the same time as is the case with other Made For iPhone accessories like game controllers, battery cases, and headsets, reports 9to5mac.

At present, several iPhone accessories come with a built-in strobe. One of these is the Lume Cube, which Apple calls as the first-ever off-camera flash that works with the iPhone. However, these accessories use Bluetooth for connectivity and are not in the MFI program of the company. Lume Cube comes with an optical sensor that allows it to double as an external slave flash linked to the built-in camera flash of the iPhone.

Another hardware called Tric was made to sync external flashes with iPhone devices. However, all of these present solutions force users to sync through Bluetooth and use the third-party software of the accessory maker to sync it with iPhone’s integrated flash and shutter button. With the Made For iPhone program, the specs provided by Apple could allow accessories like strobes and flashes to sync with iPhone 11’s default camera shutter button.

At present, the support for strobes is available on Apple’s Made For iPhone program’s developer preview for accessory makers. It supports iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Since it is a developer preview, the Cupertino company restricts manufacturers from releasing licensed MFI products that use the feature. However, Apple is offering the specs so they could prepare.