Apple has snagged Nokia's top camera design engineer in what appears to be a move to challenge the company's stellar PureView technology.
Ari Partinen, who joined Nokia in 2007 and has been leading Lumia photography, will soon be heading to Cupertino, Calif., aka Apple headquarters, Forbes reported. The digital imaging engineer is slated to work directly with Apple CEO Tim Cook, according to Forbes.
Partinen announced the change in a tweet on May 9, saying, "Today will be my last day working for the amazing #Lumia family. In June I will start a new chapter in Cupertino, California. Much love!" He noted in a later tweet that Apple was indeed the "new chapter" he was referencing.
The iPhone 6 is expected to be released soon, so its design is likely already locked in place, but Partinen's expertise could revolutionize the next generation of Apple devices. Nokia has been established as the name to beat when it comes to smartphone technology, launching PureView in 2012 with a 41-megapixel camera.
While Apple's iPhones have long had high quality cameras, both the coup of hiring Partinen and recent camera-related patents suggest that the tech giant is looking to move forward, TechCrunch reported.
Some of the patents are for "smaller autofocus components to decrease the size of the camera module, triple sensors and lenses for improved resolution and colour accuracy, an optical image stabilization technique, and even a Lytro-style system for changing focus after a photo has been snapped," according to TechCrunch.
After the hire, Apple smartphone cameras may implement PureView-esque technologies, including great performance in low-light settings and unusually high megapixel counts, Ars Technica noted.
Nokia was recently acquired by Microsoft in a $7.5 billion deal where Microsoft essentially purchased all components of the Espoo, Finland-based manufacturer's devices business.
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