Apple patents image compression that saves space on circular photos
Apple has been granted a patent for a method to compress digital images by changing their shape during the saving process. The technique maps a circular area of the original image to a square area in the compressed file, applying stronger compression to the center than the edges.
In the filing’s own words
In one implementation, a method of compressing an image is performed at a device including one or more processors and non-transitory memory. The method includes obtaining an uncompressed image. The method includes compressing the uncompressed image to generate a compressed image by mapping a substantially circular portion of the uncompressed image to a substantially square portion of the compressed image, wherein a central region of the substantially circular portion of the uncompressed image is compressed more than a remainder of the substantially circular portion of the uncompressed image.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method comprising: at a device having one or more processors and non-transitory memory; obtaining an uncompressed image; and compressing the uncompressed image to generate a compressed image by mapping a portion of the uncompressed image having a first shape to a portion of the compressed image having a second shape different than the first shape, wherein a central first region of the portion of the uncompressed image including pixels having a normalized radius less than a first value is compressed more than a second region of the portion of the uncompressed image including pixels having a normalized radius greater than the first value.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Circular image compression
- Patent number
- US12764307B2
- Application number
- 18242355
- Filed
- Sep 5, 2023
- Granted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04N 19/167 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.