New iPhone: Apple's future handset to include laser-powered camera for 3D images, claims report

This year's phone will also bring a range of camera improvements

A young man looks at Apple's iPhone 8 Plus at the Apple Store of Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan (EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON)

Apple's new iPhones are set to include a laser-powered camera for 3D images, according to a new report.

The new imaging system is likely to be the flagship feature on the flagship phone that will be released in 2020, which will replace the iPhone XS Max. And it is just one of a range of updates and new products that are set to be released over the coming years, according to Bloomberg.

First, a new 2019 phone will include three cameras on its back, allowing for vastly improved photographs, according to the same report. It will allow Apple to take more detailed photos as well as potentially allow for them to be edited after they have been taken.

On both phones, the new camera features are likely to be the biggest and most-discussed new upgrades. Apple has focused on photography in its recent phones as it aims to encourage purchases despite falling demand for new handsets.

The 2020 camera will include technologies that allow it to scan the world around it, creating a three-dimensional picture of the world around it. In that respect, it will work similarly to the Face ID scanner that currently allows people to unlock their phones with facial recognition – but it will use different a different method, and work over much longer distances.

The laser-powered camera will be part of a phone that will also include upgraded chips, an improved lens system as well as alterations to how the phones can take photos, the same report claimed.

It appears the laser-powered camera will include the 3D imaging system so that it can perceive depth and map objects. That will help Apple's push into augmented reality, which has seen it release a range of tools to allow people to overlay virtual objects onto the real world.

The extra sensing capabilities could also improve traditional photos, allowing for images that capture better depth, according to the Bloomberg report.

The technologies could be a trial run for Apple's plans for an augmented reality headset or glasses, which it has been repeatedly rumoured to be working on – and which the company has not explicitly denied.

Apple's 2019 phone will also have a range of improvements to its camera technologies, according to the same report. They will include three cameras to allow for improved photo capabilities, which could allow for the phone to take a larger field of view, better zoom, and potentially allowing the phone to automatically improve photos or videos after they are taken.

The 3D cameras were being worked on for this year's phones but were not ready in time, the Bloomberg report claimed. Instead, they will come to next year's line on the the 2020 version of the iPhone XS Max, though they might not make it onto the upgraded versions of the XS and XR.

As well as new camera technologies, Apple plans to improve the software used to take photos. That will include changes to the Live Photos feature – which captures video either side of a photo to allow people to see them in context – so that they take six seconds of video rather than three.

The new phones will also have improved chips and an updated Face ID sensor so the phones unlock more quickly. Otherwise, they are expected to look largely similae to this year's models, with more dramatic changes coming in 2020.