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The next iPhone could take much better selfies

The next iPhone could take much better selfies

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Update: Read the Apple iOS 9 review.

Apple may be planning to up the iPhone's selfie game in a big way. Code within the developer beta of iOS 9 suggests that a future phone or tablet could have a flash beside its front camera, as well as the ability to record video in 1080p and the ability to record 240 FPS slow-motion videos in 720p, according to developer Hamza Sood. Sood also points to code suggesting that iOS devices will be able to take panoramas using the front camera.

Bigger, brighter, wider selfies

All of the features Sood points to are currently only available on the iPhone's rear camera. Of course, the front camera is increasingly becoming as, if not more, important thanks to the rise of the selfie, so it makes a lot of sense that Apple might focus on it. It would certainly be a great selling point for a new phone.

There's no guarantee that this means a flash or a better camera will show up on the front of the next iPhone, but it's not a bad guess. Two years ago, Sood noticed iOS beta code referencing a fingerprint sensor, and two months later Touch ID showed up in the iPhone 5S. Around the same time, Sood also identified references to slow-motion shooting for the iPhone's rear camera — that also showed up in the iPhone 5S.