An Apple patent application has surfaced that tackles improved video and photo performance on handheld devices includes a very clear depiction of a front-facing camera. Did someone say iPad Chatroulette?

The patent, with the decidedly unsexy title of “Apparatus and Method for Compensating for Variations in Digital Cameras,” outlines ways in which they company could account for variations in the lens manufacturing process. Since camera components are manufactured separately and then incorporated into their host devices, there’s a broad range of lens thickness, color response, and so on. The technology in the Apple patent would test each camera individually and adjust for the bias.

But I care less about what the lens does than where it goes, and on the generic Apple device pictured above, it’s clearly front-facing. Of course, this could all just be a big tease. But if we all shut our eyes and clap our hands and believe, maybe Uncle Steve will make it real. [AppleInsider]

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