During Apple’s recent “Wonderlust” event, the tech giant unveiled the impressive camera system of the iPhone 15 Pro, claiming it “pushes the limits of what you can capture with a smartphone.” While much was discussed, a brief but intriguing mention of the device’s support for “spatial computing video” left many with questions.
For those who may have missed it, spatial video, in essence, is Apple’s term for 3D video. The iPhone 15 Pro possesses the capability to natively record spatial videos by merging footage captured by the Main and Ultra Wide cameras, resulting in a kind of stereoscopic video experience.
This captivating 3D video content will find its true home in Apple’s “spatial computing” Vision Pro headset, set to launch early next year. Through this headset, users will have the opportunity to relive their memories in a fully immersive manner. While Apple didn’t explicitly state it, one can presume that the iPhone 15 Pro might also have the capacity to capture spatial photo stills utilizing a similar camera processing method.
However, a number of questions lingered unanswered during Apple’s presentation, even as the senior VP of worldwide marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, offered insights into the iPhone 15 Pro’s advanced camera features. These features include the ability to record 4K ProRes video at 60 frames per second and a 5x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Firstly, it remains unclear what file format will be used for these spatial videos, and Apple provided no details regarding their potential size. It’s possible that users will need to activate a special mode within the Camera app to capture spatial video. The manner in which these videos will be stored within the Photos app and whether they will be playable on the iPhone itself also remains shrouded in mystery.
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Apple has promised to unveil answers to these questions in due course. Although the capability to shoot spatial video using an iPhone 15 Pro is not currently available, the company has assured that it will be “coming later this year.”