iPhone 6s To Have DSLR-Quality Camera? Rumors Suggest ‘Dual-Lens’ Camera, Apple Watch ‘Force Touch’ Feature

The cameras on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus may be some of the best on the smartphone market, but they could be trumped by the camera on the next iteration of the iPhone. Though the next phone -- possibly the "iPhone 6s" -- isn't expected for another eight months, sources within Apple Inc.’s supply chain in Asia have detailed a “dual-lens” camera module, according to Chinese publication UDN. Such a feature would improve the camera’s low-light performance and could also aid in optical image stabilization.

Apple has long used a single lens with a five-element design on its cameras. Minor camera upgrades on each new generation of iPhone have kept consumers satisfied. But in 2014, the manufacturer introduced a bigger update: optical image stabilization and phase-detection autofocus on the iPhone 6 Plus. The camera on the iPhone 6 Plus in particular is said to be on par with the image quality of point-and-shoot cameras. The iPhone 6 did not get that feature.

Now, Apple may provide the next iPhone with its largest camera upgrade in Apple’s history. Information out of Apple’s Asia supply chain has often been reliable in the past, and tallies with prior reports suggesting that Apple will put a camera in the new iPhone that will rival the image quality of DSLR cameras. Daring Fireball's John Gruber said in November that Apple is working on a “weird two-lens system” for a future iPhone.

Devices like the HTC One M8 include a dual-lens camera, created by the Israeli startup Corephotonics. But Apple usually uses lenses by Sony.

The "iPhone 6s" may also implement a feature called Force Touch, according to the Taipei-based touch module supplier TPK. Force Touch lets the Apple Watch interpret different levels of pressure for different actions; a user can press heavily on the smartwatch screen to open an options menu, and then use a light tough to select an option. The Apple Watch is expected to launch sometime in March.