Five reasons why Apple could develop a professional camera product

Although we don't know what industry Apple wants to enter next, the professional video camera industry may be a good fit for them. Apple has successfully reformed or revitalized multiple hardware markets, including the MP3 player market, smartphones, tablets, and smart watches. Although we don't know what industry Apple wants to enter next, the professional video camera industry may be a good fit for them for the following reasons:

Consumers want smarter cameras

Current imaging technology has achieved amazing results, but for professional users and amateurs, the functions of current camera products still cannot meet their needs in many aspects.

Since the advent of digital cameras, the way photographers interact with photos has hardly changed. Photographers use cameras to take photos, but many other interactions are done on other platforms. We do not deny that some cameras now support Wi-Fi connections, but even so, compared with smartphones that allow users to share photos instantly, the functions and steps of cameras in this regard are still a bit cumbersome.

Compared to the tasks that users perform through apps on their smartphones, current camera products can be said to have only learned the basics.

This situation must change. Sales of camera products for photography enthusiasts have been weak in recent years. And now that smartphone cameras are constantly improving, more and more users choose to use smartphones directly to shoot, while sales of professional camera brands seem to have been not very ideal. At least cameras need to have downloadable apps so that the tasks that users can perform on the device are not restricted by the pre-installed technology of the device.

Although Sony has also developed a number of products for its Alpha series of cameras, and so has Samsung, unfortunately these are just scratching the surface and cannot really solve the problem.

Of course, any company has the freedom to make its camera smarter, not necessarily Apple, but which company can match Apple's development capabilities?

Jonathan once designed camera products

We are certainly not referring to the camera that Apple uses in the iPhone here. Rather, we are referring to the special edition Leica camera that Jonathan and Marc Newson designed together for charity in 2013. To create this camera, Ive and Marc spent 85 days, tried 561 models and 1,000 prototype designs, and finally decided to use Ive's favorite aluminum body instead of Leica's traditional leather material. The design of this camera is based on the Leica M series, with a 50mm f/2 lens. The body and lens are made of custom engineering alloys, and more than 21,000 hemispherical dots bring a new aesthetic style. The camera costs $1.8 million.

This means that key design figures such as Jonathan and Marc Newson have some experience in designing cameras, and they may also be interested in camera design.

  Apple may be developing car products, so why not have another branch?

Apple's product portfolio is very tight, but who says that Apple can't have another product line? Judging from the current industry news, it is very likely that Apple is developing automotive products. Apple tends to develop products that ordinary people use every day. If Apple wants to develop something completely different from previous products, the camera should be very consistent with this standard and requirement.

Apple knows how to design a product to make it eye-catching.

While specs like pixels, aperture, and sensor size all affect camera products, the image processing behind the photos is often overlooked. In the smartphone camera competition, Apple is also at the top, but this is because they have excellent image processing and a smooth software platform, not because they have first-class technology.

Apple's iPhone cameras have been at the forefront of color reproduction since at least the iPhone 4, and the company has also pioneered new ways to make features like auto-HDR easier to use, which helps to make up for their lack of sensor technology and make it easier for non-professional users to use.

There are many people who like photography and Apple.

At least that's true on Flickr. If you look at photos shared on the photo-sharing site over the past year, you'll find that the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5 are the most popular platforms for sharing (Samsung Galaxy S5 is also in the top 5). As for the brand rankings, Apple still leads the list, followed by Samsung, Canon, and Nikon.

In the future, on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, data will further tilt towards smartphones.

In addition to mobile platforms, Apple has also attracted the attention of professional video users in other areas. For example, on the desktop platform, Aperture has been the image editing application of choice for many professional videographers, and the image editing functions of the Photos application launched earlier this year are much more powerful than common image management software. There is also evidence among Lightroom users that the market is beginning to favor Apple.

Apple has huge potential in the camera market, and if they can integrate hardware and software in this market like they have in other products, they will be able to help revitalize the professional photography industry. For a company like Apple that has a very high profile in the technology industry, the professional photography industry may be a good fit for them.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.