A rumor out of Korea claims that Apple is testing a new anti-glare optical coating technology for future iPhone cameras that could improve photo quality by reducing artifacts like flare and halos.

Apple is considering adding new atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment to the iPhone’s camera lens manufacturing process, according to news aggregator account “yeux1122” on the Naver blog, citing a company source in Apple’s supply chain.

ALD involves depositing materials onto a substrate one atomic layer at a time, allowing extremely precise control of thickness and composition. Its use allows manufacturers to deposit very thin layers of material into semiconductor devices, including camera components.

ALD can be used to apply anti-reflective coatings for camera lenses, which can help reduce photographic artifacts such as light streaks and halos that can appear in the final image when a bright light source, such as the sun, shines directly onto the photo. lens

ALD can also reduce halos, a type of image distortion in which faint secondary images appear in a photograph, usually in the presence of a bright light source. This occurs when light bounces back and forth between the surfaces of the lens elements and the camera sensor.

Additionally, the materials used with ALD can protect the camera’s lens system from environmental damage without affecting the sensor’s ability to effectively capture light.

Naver’s blog claims that the manufacturing process will be applied to a “professional model” in Apple’s “next-generation” iPhone lineup; This appears to be a reference to one or both of the premium models in the iPhone 16 series, but given the timing of the release of the rumor, we don’t rule out the possibility of this method being tested for next year’s iPhone 17 Pro models.

Both the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to include a 5x optical zoom tetraprism lens, a feature currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max in Apple’s smartphone lineup. Apple usually launches the next generation iPhone in mid-September.