What will future iPhones look like in the future? Everyone is currently trying to second guess what improvements the iPhone 12 (opens in new tab) will bring later this year - but as yet it seems that the latest Apple smartphone will probably bring just incremental changes.
But what about a more radical view of what mobiles could look like? We love this radical solution from German industrial design student Louis Berger (opens in new tab). His 3D designs show an iPhone-like smartphone that has a modular design – with a removable camera unit.
Berger's "Mosaic" phone gives you the option of have a second screen on the rear of the camera, or the more traditional camera unit with multiple lenses. But the most intriguing part of the design is that the camera can be used separately from the main part of the phone, which houses the full-sized LCD screen.
You can think of this as having an Apple Watch sized device that you take off your phone for shooting pictures or videos. It could be worn on a wrist strap or carried on a lanyard. Its smaller form factor, moreover, means that with a suitable mount the camera unit could be used as a body camera (opens in new tab), baby monitor, or as an action camera (opens in new tab).
The design gives far more photographic possibilities to your smartphone – and you could also see the module being used as a remote-controlled camera, being fired from and remotely monitored by the main Mosaic unit.
The camera module attaches the main unit via on a magnetic mount – but has its on miniature display, so you can use the unit separately.
Aged 21, Berger is just finishing his degree in industrial design at Munich University of Applied Sciences, but has already had placements at BMW and Nest Labs. But look at his innovative designs it is easy to see him following in the footsteps of Jonathan Ive. You can see more of his portfolio on Behance (opens in new tab).
Read more
The best iPhone for photography (opens in new tab)
The best camera phone in 2020 (opens in new tab)
The best Macbooks for photo editing (opens in new tab)
The best selfie sticks (opens in new tab)
The best phone cases (opens in new tab)