Will The Next iPhone Have Video Chat?
Ever since Apple previewed iPhone OS 4.0 last week, speculation is rife whether the new iPhone will offer Video Chat functionality or not. Developers who’ve been working overtime on the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK have pointed to evidences which indicate that one-on-one and group video chatting may be offered on the next iPhone.
And that’s not all, 9to5mac has found references to moderators, chat rooms, encrypted video conferences, and one on one video chats in OS 4.0 beta. Files have been found which refer to alerts for incoming video chat requests and sound similar to the iChat Mac application, according to the folks at 9to5mac. Further, it is believed that Apple has already setup three gigantic servers to deal with the video conferencing service.
Other rumors suggest that Apple is working to introduce a physical flash in the next generation iPhone 4G/HD and the next iPhone may offer a 5 MegaPixel camera. If the initial signs are anything to go by, Video Chat and Conferencing on the iPhone is going to be a huge turnaround for users and it is surely bound to have a major impact on the conferencing and collaboration marketplace. Going by the recent cleanup activity on the Apple iTunes Store, I’d expect that Apple will heavily moderate and protect its video chat rooms. IMO, video chat on iPhone would also have a major impact on the popularity of ChatRoulette app.
To offer Video Chat, Apple will surely need to have a forward facing camera on the next iPhone. I can’t understand why Apple decided not to integrate it in the recently launched iPad. I personally believe that it’s high time for the iPhone to have a front facing camera at least on the iPhone (and preferably on the next iPad as well), given that most other competitors started offering it long time back.
I realize that the existence of relevant code inside iPhone OS 4 does not guarantee that the next iPhone (due this summer) will offer video chat functionality. As usual, Apple has declined to comment on these speculations.
