Apple patents a smartphone camera kill switch

The advent of high-resolution video recording in smartphones has been a boon for fans looking for concert footage on YouTube, but the bands aren't so keen on their concerts appearing for free online before the show even ends.

Of course, it also sucks to be at a concert and have your view blocked by the dozens of smartphones being held up to take pictures and video.

So it seems Apple, which has been trying to cozy up to the music industry, has come up with a fix that sounds good on paper but has potential for misuse. It has been granted a patent, first filed in 2011 and refiled in 2014, that allows the iPhone camera to detect an infrared signal that will give instructions or information to the camera.

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