LG Patent Hints at a Smartphone With 16 Rear Camera Sensors

The global smartphone market appears to be the battleground for a new war, with manufacturers competing on the number of camera sensors they can put on a smartphone. Samsung recently took it to the next level with four camera sensors at the back of the Galaxy A9 (2018). However, LG may be planning to take things to another level altogether with not just four, but 16 rear camera lenses. The South Korean manufacturer has already received a patent in the US that reserves the right to place a total of 16 camera lenses at the back of the smartphone, in a matrix-style layout.

In a patent received by LG in the US from the USPTO, first reported by Dutch blog LetsGo Digital, the company has detailed a design to fit in a 16-camera setup. Placed in a matrix arrangement, these multiple sensors will allow the user to take a single photo from multiple perspectives. The different angles can then be used to choose the shot of your choice.

Additionally, the patent suggests that this camera setup will allow for a sophisticated face recognition technology. This feature will allow users to replace head shots with other people from photos clicked beforehand. While not specified, it will be interesting to see how this pans out in reality.

A mirror will likely also be placed just below the 16 rear camera sensors to allow users to take selfies with the same cameras, instead of using the possibly underpowered selfie camera. The patent also specifies that this design could be applied to a non-traditional smartphone design like a foldable phone or a phone with any other kind of form factor.

While not a smartphone, the Light Camera was actually the first device to sport a total of 16 camera sensors. However, achieving this on a smartphone is a no small feat given the amount of internals the handset will have apart from just the camera mechanism.