Sony is supposedly set to launch a "lens-camera" device that can be connected to a smartphone so users can benefit from the screen and connectivity options the phone provides, while at the same time offering better imaging capabilities over and above what phones can offer.  

The new device, which is basically trying to offer a best of both worlds scenario, looks to be a lens with a sensor and battery built in that would connect to a phone via NFC and Bluetooth to share images. 

Sonyalpharumors, which has broken the story, claims that trusted sources are telling them that this is the real deal, and have supplied an admittedly pixelated picture of the device. The photography site rates its rumours on a five-point scale and awards this one an SR5, which it says is "almost certainly correct".

The lens-camera will supposedly come with its own memory for snapping without a smartphone, although it is unclear whether it will also feature a screen of its own. 

The site states that the first lens device from Sony will launch soon and feature the same sensor found in an RX100 II compact. It is also said to come with the same Zeiss lens.

Of course all this is highly plausible once you realise that the reason cameras have rectangular backs is for the 35mm film they used to take. Now cameras don't take film, some believe that the camera can and should change shape.