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Apple’s latest line of iPhone handsets may soon support photography accessories launched under Apple’s Made-for-iPhone (MFi) program. According to 9to5Mac, Apple has shared new specs with manufacturers who are part of the MFi program, ones that pave the way for lighting and strobe devices that connect with the iPhone using the Lightning port rather than Bluetooth.
MFi is a licensing program that enables manufacturers to make third-party accessories compatible with Apple’s mobile devices. According to this new report, Apple recently provided these manufacturers with new MFi specs as part of a developer preview that make it possible to create lighting and strobe accessories for the iPhone.
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Unlike the Lume Cube and other existing products, MFi-compatible lighting accessories will use Lightning instead of Bluetooth in order to sync with the iPhone’s flash and to deliver or draw power to/from the handset. As well, MFi lightning and strobe accessories will likely better support third-party camera apps and will likely be able to sync with the iPhone’s native camera app shutter button.
According to 9to5Mac, these new specs only support the iPhone 11 line of smartphones, meaning older iPhone model users would still have to use less capable Bluetooth-based accessories. Manufacturers will be able to launch their own MFi mobile lighting products once the specs are officially released beyond the developer’s preview.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)