LG patents 16 lens smartphone camera

It's getting harder and harder to make smartphones stand out, and manufacturers seem to be addressing this problem by throwing more cameras at it. Now that almost every handset has two cameras on the back, we're now seeing plenty of devices with three or even four rear-facing lenses.

LG, however, is taking this to an almost absurd new level: a recently filed patent discovered by LetsGoDigitial reveals plans for a 16 lens smartphone camera.

While details around this frankly ridiculous camera setup are currently scarce, the lenses are placed in an arrangement that would essentially make it possible to take a single photo from multiple perspectives. This technology would also facilitate the capture of 3D moving pictures, and make it easier to replace objects in a shot due to the additional data provided by the array of lenses.

The patents also show a small mirror positioned under the camera, because selfies apparently need 16 lenses too.

Given this 16 lens camera purely exists in patent form, there are no guarantees as to if or when we'll actually see it on an LG smartphone. At the very least, it suggests the smartphone camera war is far from over. Strap yourself in, it's gonna get wild. 

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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