Apple To Put Restrictions On iPhone Camera?

Smart-phone cameras are nasty things for folks who don’t want to get caught in the act doing things they should not be doing. Some iPhone owners do use their camera to capture videos and photos at events such as concerts and conferences. The music industry is not exactly excited with people having the ability to record music events “illegally.” A recent patent application by Apple suggests that the company may be aiming for a solution to keep the music industry happy in this regard.

As discovered by Patently Apple, Apple may be planning to add a complex infrared system to iPhone to allow the device to receive data from its surroundings and put restrictions on what you can do with its camera. Such a system could be used to enhance iPhone users’ experience in certain settings, which is how Apple might go about promoting this. However, it is highly unlikely for Apple to implement these restrictions at all. It is too much of an overreach.

Apple applies for a lot of patents. Not all of these ideas come to fruition immediately. Just the fact that Apple has applied for this patent should excite the music industry, which has quite frankly made some astonishing (and damaging) business decisions in the past. Apple’s patent application for GPS-enabled calendar alerts and alarms is a much more exciting development at this point.

Would you still buy new iPhones if Apple puts restrictions on their cameras?