What you need to know
- Ming-Chi Kuo says that competition is heating up in Apple's lens supply chain for the iPhone 13.
- He says that Sunny Optical has successfully verified its iPad 5P lens, making a 7P Ultra-Wide camera lens in iPhone 13 much more likely.
A new report from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that iPhone 13 is now much more likely to get a big upgrade to its Ultra-Wide camera through a new 7P Ultra Wide lens.
In a research note seen by iMore, Kuo states that supplier Sunny Optical has successfully completed verification of its iPad 5P lens verification, and is expected to start shipments of the components in the middle of this quarter. Sunny will supply about 15% of those parts for iPad, but it isn't specified whether this is for a current model or a new, upcoming iPad.
What is specified, however, is that the successful verification of Sunny Optical's iPad lens means "that the probability of shipment of the 7P wide-angle lens for the new 2H21 iPhone has greatly increased."
Kuo says that what Sunny Optical has learned from the verification process will help in the development of a 7P lens, a process Kuo also says is proceeding smoothly.
Within the supply chain, Kuo states that Sunny Optical's greater competition will put pressure on suppliers like Largan.
Apple's iPhone 12 lineup currently features an Ultra Wide camera with an f/2.4 5P lens. A 7P lens helps to increase the amount of light going into a shop, really boosting the camera quality. Kuo had previously reported that Apple would improve the Ultra Wide camera in its iPhone 13 'Pro' lineup to an f/1.8 6P lens with autofocus. Just this week a report from Barclays claimed that Apple would upgrade the UItra Wide Camera across its entire iPhone 13 lineup to an f/1.8 setup.
Other reports have previously stated that improvements to Apple's iPhone 12 Pro Max camera will be rolled out across the whole iPhone lineup this year.
We've heard plenty of recent reports about the iPhone 13 and potential upgrades coming this year. One big revelation is that might well be called the iPhone 12S, rather than the iPhone 13.
