How Smartphones Automatically Adjust Camera Settings in Low Light
A system that automatically shows or hides camera exposure controls based on whether the device detects low-light conditions.
Original patent title: “User interfaces for capturing and managing visual media”
A system that automatically shows or hides camera exposure controls based on whether the device detects low-light conditions. Granted to Apple Inc in 2023 with 75 claims and 4 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a smart camera interface that reacts to the environment. When the device detects that ambient light is below a certain threshold, it automatically displays a control, such as a slider, allowing the user to adjust the capture duration (exposure time). If the light improves, the interface removes this control to keep the screen clean. It also includes features to update the visual preview of the camera's field-of-view in real-time as the user adjusts the capture duration, helping them see how the final photo will look before they press the shutter.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover manual camera settings that are always present regardless of ambient light levels.
- Does not cover image processing algorithms that adjust exposure without user-facing controls.
- Does not cover hardware-based flash triggering mechanisms that operate independently of the UI.
- Does not cover non-visual methods of adjusting camera settings, such as voice commands.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation lies in the conditional UI: the interface is context-aware, using sensor data to determine the relevance of a control before displaying it, rather than forcing the user to navigate through menus to find manual exposure settings.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
iOS Camera app Night Mode interface
Smartphone camera exposure sliders that appear during low-light shooting
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent is central to modern mobile photography, where user experience is as important as sensor quality. By dynamically surfacing controls only when needed, Apple reduces interface clutter while ensuring users can still manually override automatic settings in challenging lighting, a feature standard in the iOS Camera app.
Filed
October 25, 2021
Granted
July 18, 2023
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Apple Inc. continues to refine this interface within its mobile operating system. Other major smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung and Google, implement similar context-aware UI elements in their respective camera applications to manage complex sensor data.
Market impact
This patent reinforces the trend of 'computational photography' where the software layer is as critical as the lens. It protects the specific user experience of simplifying professional-grade photography controls for the average consumer, which has become a primary competitive differentiator for flagship smartphones.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a smart camera interface that reacts to the environment. When the device detects that ambient light is below a certain threshold, it automatically displays a control, such as a slider, allowing the user to adjust the capture duration (exposure time). If the light improves, the interface removes this control to keep the screen clean. It also includes features to update the visual preview of the camera's field-of-view in real-time as the user adjusts the capture duration, helping them see how the final photo will look before they press the shutter.
The clever bit
The innovation lies in the conditional UI: the interface is context-aware, using sensor data to determine the relevance of a control before displaying it, rather than forcing the user to navigate through menus to find manual exposure settings.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover manual camera settings that are always present regardless of ambient light levels.
- Does not cover image processing algorithms that adjust exposure without user-facing controls.
- Does not cover hardware-based flash triggering mechanisms that operate independently of the UI.
- Does not cover non-visual methods of adjusting camera settings, such as voice commands.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Strong
Citation count
14/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
20/20
Very broad protection
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$101K – $323K
Midpoint $202K · 15.4 yr remaining · industry ×1.4
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
75 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Hubel, P. M., SANTOS, A. S. D., Federighi, C. M., PAUL, G., Dye, A. C., Lupinetti, N. D., McCormack, J. I., Manzari, B. J., Deshpande, A., & III, W. A. S. (2023). How Smartphones Automatically Adjust Camera Settings in Low Light (U.S. Patent No. 11,706,521). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11706521/dynamic-island
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Smartphones Automatically Adjust Camera Settings in Low Light cover?
A system that automatically shows or hides camera exposure controls based on whether the device detects low-light conditions.
Who owns patent US 11706521?
Apple Inc owns this patent, granted in 2023.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on July 18, 2043, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 11706521 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 4 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent is central to modern mobile photography, where user experience is as important as sensor quality. By dynamically surfacing controls only when needed, Apple reduces interface clutter while ensuring users can still manually override automatic settings in challenging lighting, a feature standard in the iOS Camera app.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover manual camera settings that are always present regardless of ambient light levels.
Same assignee
More from Apple Inc
Patent monitoring