Word of these potential developments leaked through a patent application that Apple successfully got approved.
According to tech analyst Matt Burns, the patent mostly covers details about the iPhone that are generally known, including its touch-screen functionality, malleable user interface and other familiar features.
But two intriguing details in the patent pointed toward a level of functionality not yet seen in the device, including video conferencing and digital video support.
To be fair, a company called UStream.tv has rolled out one of the first streaming video apps for the iPhone, but support for streaming video remains in its infancy.
Tech pundit Alexander Wolfe noted that a video-streaming feature could be combined with the iPhone's existing functions to yield an enticingly science-fiction result: a video phone.
"I believe Apple intends to go well beyond the simple video clip recording that every still camera today has anyway," he wrote for InformationWeek.com. "It intends to turn the iPhone into a handheld video conferencing device."
But before anyone gets too excited, Burns added that Apple may just have been casting a wide net with its iPhone patent.
"The company just wants to protect its assets by including everything the iPhone could be within the legal bounds of the patent," he wrote for CrunchGear.com.
