Nokia Lumia photography chief Ari Partinen joins Apple

Apple's mobile imaging team looks to have a new leader, as former Nokia camera engineering executive Ari Partinen announced on Friday that he will depart the Finnish smartphone maker and move to its American rival.

Partinen made the announcement on Twitter, saying that Friday was his last day at Nokia and that he would soon "start a new chapter in Cupertino, California." The tweets were first noticed by Engadget.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Partinen leaves Nokia as the company's Lumia Photography Lead "in the fields of mobile photography, image quality verification, verification up-streaming, 3rd party management and collaboration, supplier collaboration and technical marketing in various multimedia segments." Products for which he was responsible include the Nokia 808 PureView and Nokia N8.

A graduate of Helsinki University of Technology, Partinen joined Nokia as an image quality engineer in 2007. He is credited as one of the inventors of Nokia's PureView system, which is widely lauded by photography enthusiasts as among the best mobile camera technologies available.

PureView uses pixel oversampling and on-chip image processing to shrink a very large image — the Nokia Lumia 1020 ships with a 41-megapixel camera — into a smaller, higher-quality one. This allows for sharper images, enhanced digital zoom capability, and better low-light performance.

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Apple rumored to launch 4.7-inch 'iPhone 6' in August, larger model in September

According to the latest rumblings out of the Far East, Apple is planning to debut the 4.7-inch version of its next-generation iPhone in August and may follow up with a larger model a month later.

Mockup of iPhone with 4.94-inch screen, created by Marco Arment.

Reuters on Friday pointed to a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily News that cited unnamed sources in Apple's supply chain as saying the hotly anticipated "iPhone 6" could be unveiled in August, one month earlier than the company's usual product cycle.

Light on details, the Taiwanese publication claims Apple will release the 4.7-inch version of its flagship handset before a larger 5.5-inch or 5.6-inch model debuts in September. Rumors of a 5.6-inch iPhone has been tossed out before — most recently in February by the same newspaper — though prevailing speculation points to a 5.5-inch screen size.

While initial market availability is unknown, sources expect Apple's partner suppliers to produce a total of 80 million iPhone 6 models by the end of 2014.

Friday's rumor adds to the near daily stream of supposed parts leaks, mockups and inside information regarding Apple's next iPhone. On Thursday, it was reported that Pegatron will be responsible for 15 percent of all 4.7-inch iPhone 6 orders, a change from Apple's usual reliance on Foxconn to build its premium tier handsets.

For 2014, Apple is widely expected to debut two new top-end iPhones with larger screens that appeal to a wider swath of consumers. Until today, most reports speculated that the smaller version of Apple's iPhone 6 would launch in September, while the larger iteration would see release months later due to issues related to display and battery yields.