Apple aims for better iPhone photos using AI and infrared

The quality of the photos smartphones capture has become increasingly important, and Apple just acquired a company called Spectral Edge to ensure future iPhone photos look even better.

As Bloomberg reports, Spectral Edge is based in Cambridge, England and focused on developing technology that improves the photos we take automatically. It does this using a combination of capturing an infrared version of each photo taken and then using machine learning to use it for image enhancement. The end result is a crisper photograph with more accurate colors.

Clearly Apple is impressed by what Spectral Edge was doing because it acquired the company. Although there's been no official announcement yet, Peter Ronald Denwood is now listed as a director at the company. He's better known as one of Apple's corporate lawyers. It's also telling that all other board members have been terminated, leaving Apple in control.

Apple already has a research and product development presence in Cambridge, so it seems likely the tech and whatever remains of the Spectral Edge team will get merged there, or Apple could keep both locations active in the city.

Right now, Google holds the crown for best camera of a flagship phone thanks to the Pixel 4$799.00 at Google. Google does an excellent job with software to enhance the shots captured with its phones. Apple is playing catch-up in this area and Spectral Edge certainly looks like a positive step to close the gap. The iPhone 11 Pro$999.99 at Verizon has excellent cameras, but we'll have to wait until the iPhone 12 appears to see this new tech in action, assuming it's advanced enough to integrate quickly.