Who can deny the popularity of iPhones made by the tech giant Apple? Each year the brand launches a new series of iPhones and surprises the world with its amazing tech features. Also, there have always been news and rumors about Apple's soon to release iPhone series. Now, Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 series is in the news as the company to use Sony’s state-of-art image sensor. iPhone 15 is expected to be released next year.
Sony to Supply State-of-The-Art Image Sensor to Apple
According to Nikkei, Apple will use the latest state-of-the-art image sensor produced by Sony in their upcoming iPhone 15. However, it is not confirmed if the sensor will be used in all iPhone 15 series or in the Pro models only.
Sony Semiconductor Solutions has developed this new sensor which will be manufactured commercially in the Nagasaki plant and shipped to Apple along with other smartphone manufacturers. But, the new sensor is yet to be produced in bulk for Apple.
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The addition of a new state-of-art image sensor will be very important for Sony as they aim to consolidate its competitive advantage in the high-definition photography sector. Sony’s top rival Samsung Electronics has already been under pressure on Sony, as they supply image sensors to Apple.
So, Sony’s new image sensor supply to Apple will change the game and help them to grab a significant market share in the high-definition photography industry.
With that note, Sony has heavily invested in image sensor tech to capture around 60% complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor market by 2025. According to British analytics firm Omdia, Sony has a 44% global share in CMOS image sensors, while Samsung has 18.5%.
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So, the landscape might change significantly in the next few years if Apple really uses Sony’s state-of-art technology for their iPhone 15 cameras.
What's The Specialty of Sony’s New Image Sensor
So, why does Apple want to use Sony’s new sensor?
The new state-of-art sensor can double the saturation signal level in each pixel compared with the conventional sensors. To explain easily, the sensor can capture more light while reducing overexposure or underexposure in some settings. In addition to that, it can enable taking a clear photograph of a person’s face even if the person stands against a high backlight.
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Sony’s new semiconductor places transistors and photodiodes in separate substrate layers that allow more photodiodes to the dedicated layer.
What More to Expect in iPhone 15
Although Apple usually launches new series in September, rumors about upcoming series start circulating early. According to the speculation, the iPhone 15 is likely to have a titanium chassis that has a curved rear edge. Thus, this will replace the current squared-off design.
Another rumor circulated in October that; the iPhone 15 will have four models with some incredible features than the iPhone 14. In addition to that, new models might feature USB-C charging ports too.
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According to MacRumors, Apple is currently developing a periscope telephoto lens for their iPhone 15 series to increase these phones' optical zoom capabilities. This will allow up to 10x optical zoom to compete with some Android smartphones in the market.
Final Words
Although several news sources confirmed that Apple would surely use Sony’s new state-of-the-art image sensor technology, the company has not started production yet. The new sensor would likely be used as the iPhone's main camera, which will be a wide camera. Let's see what's more Apple offers in the upcoming iPhone 15 series.