Not just Sony anymore: Apple reportedly interested in new image sensor

Anyone who thinks about the highly praised cameras in the iPhone should also think about Sony: The Japanese company is the one that has been supplying Apple with so-called CMOS image sensors (CIS), i.e. central image sensors, for years. Apple really doesn’t like it when a supplier has a monopoly – in its own opinion, this makes the iPhone maker too dependent. According to a new report, the management has now decided to bring another CIS provider on board. One that is at least as famous as Sony.

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Soni will no longer be alone?

As Ming-Chi Kuo, a typically knowledgeable analyst at Taiwanese investment house TF International Securities, wrote on X on Wednesday, this is the case Division of the South Korean company Samsung. It will provide at least one image sensor for the iPhone “possibly in early 2026”. According to Kuo, this is an ultra wide-angle sensor. Samsung is said to offer a “1/2.6-inch module with 48 megapixels”. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max currently have a 12-megapixel model.

The plan is to break Sony’s long-standing monopoly as a CIS supplier. Samsung has also set up its own team just to take care of Apple. Kuo initially did not give any further details about which iPhone models should get Samsung CIS. On Wednesday, he also gave information about the new iPhone 17 “Slim” or “Ultra”, which is due to arrive in 2025. However, like other iPhone 17 models, it is still likely to be equipped with Sony CIS, and the iPhone 18 will be available in 2026.

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Apple has also been working with Samsung for a long time

Samsung has been a supplier of iPhones for quite a long time. Initially, the South Koreans are said to have also supplied SoCs for Apple smartphones, but now some of the OLED parts come from the company (in addition to LG Display). With its Android cell phones, Samsung is both a direct competitor of Apple and a long-term partner with its component departments.

This was particularly extreme in the 2010s, when companies sued each other for patent infringement. Apple’s demands on components are high, and the company often manufactures custom-made products.

(B.Sc.)