SAN FRANCISCO
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published 34 new patents for Apple on Tuesday, including one for a camera similar to the GoPro camera system.
Apple makes clear in the application that it has GoPro in its crosshairs. The small and extremely versatile GoPro devices have become widely adopted by extreme sport enthusiasts and many photographers. Shares of GoPro, which went public last June, saw a sharp decline Tuesday with news of Apple’s patent – dropping more than 12 percent since Monday.
According to Patently Apple, a blog that follows Apple’s trademark and patent activity, Apple’s patent application specifically mentions weaknesses in GoPro’s product. It also highlights how Apple’s potential camera product could be attached to a variety of objects, including motorcycle handlebars, surfboards, bicycle helmets and scuba masks.
Patently Apple noted that while the original application was filed in 2012, the latest granted patent includes intellectual property bought in 2013 from Kodak, the legendary camera and film manufacturer that struggled to survive in the digital media age.
The application also contends that an iPhone would be able to snap photographs and even record sound underwater, meaning the camera system would be waterproof.
"In some embodiments, the microphone is capable of recording sounds in air and also in an underwater environment when the digital camera is used to record underwater images,” the application reads. “In other embodiments, the digital camera includes both a conventional air microphone as well as an underwater microphone (hydrophone) capable of recording underwater sounds."
As a “humorous side note,” Patently Apple’s Jack Purcher hypothesized that the new technology would allow a user to film the shark headed toward him or her as well as record the screams.
Of course, the patent includes no information about a possible release date. Considering the Apple Watch smartwatch announced last fall still doesn’t have an official release date outside of “spring 2015,” putting out a GoPro-like camera in the near future could cannibalize business.
As Patently Apple points out, Apple probably didn’t buy up Kodak patents just to shelve them. And if Apple follows through on the invention, Kodak’s 131-year legacy of making photography more accessible will live on.
