Named "Stacked Pixel Image Sensor with High Dynamic Range and Reduced Noise," a recently filed patent by Apple describes a new camera sensor architecture that could rival the characteristics of the world's best sensor, namely the human eye.
20 stops for the next Apple sensor ?££££
The dynamic range of this sensor can reach 20 stops (luminance index in French), compared to an estimate of 20 to 30 stops for the human eye and 10 to 13 stops for current cameras. This value describes the levels of difference in brightness between the darkest shadows and the brightest parts that can be detected by a sensor. For more technical details, know that each pixel of this sensor stores different levels of light depending on the lighting of the scene, making it easier to manage large differences in brightness in the same scene while avoiding the loss of detail in very dark and very bright parts. Furthermore, each pixel, which has its own memory, can measure and cancel electronic interference (or noise) in real time.
Concretely, such technology will positively impact sensors for mobile devices, the quality of [abc]HDR[/abc] signals via [abc]streaming[/abc], the fidelity of AR/VR images and even the performance of professional devices. And of course, since Apple is on the ball, we won't be surprised to see this type of sensor arrive on iPhone one day.
