Apple may turn to LG with Sony lagging in dual-lens camera modules for 'iPhone 7 Plus'

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in iPhone
Because of production problems, Sony is behind schedule in producing dual-lens camera modules for Apple, which may turn to LG to provide the majority of initial modules for this year's 5.5-inch "Plus" iPhone, a research analyst claimed on Friday.


"iPhone 7 Plus" dual camera design mockup by Feld & Volk.


Sony may not be able to meet its target quota because of "lower-than-expected" yields, plus damage to a production facility caused by April's earthquake in Kumamoto, said Nomura Securities' Chris Chang in a memo cited by Barron's. As a result, another regular Apple supplier -- LG Innotek -- could claim the majority of Apple's first-wave orders, he said.

Chang additionally suggested that all of Apple's upcoming 5.5-inch iPhones will use dual-lens cameras, and that people buying regular 4.7-inch models won't be left out in the cold. Those phones will come equipped with optical image stabilization, something previously reserved for "Plus" devices, the analyst predicted.

Optical image stabilization, or OIS, is a marked improvement over software stabilization, and can significantly reduce the blurriness of images shot in action or low-light conditions.

Suppliers are reportedly gearing up to ship the "iPhone 7" and "7 Plus" by the end of September, in keeping with Apple's usual iPhone launch schedule. The camera situation could potentially throw a monkey wrench in those plans, causing a delay or hampering launch inventories.

On top of a dual-lens camera, the "7 Plus" might also upgrade to an "A10" processor, 3 gigabytes of RAM, and a Smart Connector.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,286member
    On a more concerning note the Financial Times had an article about a earthquake risk on Japan's Nankai Trough which has the potential for an 8.0 to 9.0!!! Richter Scale earthquake and 30m Tsunami waves immediately upon the earthquake.  It would devestate the heart of Japanese industrial activity and worse the government anticipates 332,000 deaths.

    The Nankai trough triggers a large earthquake every 100-150 years.  It has been quiet for 158 years.

    The article is retired reading for the Japanese their friends which includes all members of the Apple religion.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,286member
    The article was in the paper edition dated 18 May 2016.  Sorry I read it old school and do not know the URL.  And sorry, the AI app did not let me edit the post.  Hence the second post.
    doozydozen
  • Reply 3 of 18
    Nonsense> "lower-than-expected" yields a term that gets thrown about every year at this time.
    tallest skil
  • Reply 4 of 18
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,286member
    https://ig.ft.com/sites/japan-tsunami/

    sorry i am becoming sog-like (no offense sog)
    doozydozen
  • Reply 5 of 18
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    Last year there was a side-by-side VIDEO of a person walking through an area (ship?) with and without OIS. It was very compelling: the OIS video was very smooth, whereas the non-OIS video was very bumpy.

    Much of the discussion for OIS focuses on photos, but I think there's an even bigger impact on videos.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Nonsense> "lower-than-expected" yields a term that gets thrown about every year at this time.
    The other problem here is that unless the design is completely owned by Apple you just can't have another manufacture spin up manufacturing just like that.   Apple would need a functionally and physically identical camera module from LG.   Now the design could be Apples considering they purchased a pioneer in multilines technology, I just don't know how much IP in a camera these days is Apples vs somebody else.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    jjitjjit Posts: 7member
    Last year there was a side-by-side VIDEO of a person walking through an area (ship?) with and without OIS. It was very compelling: the OIS video was very smooth, whereas the non-OIS video was very bumpy.

    Much of the discussion for OIS focuses on photos, but I think there's an even bigger impact on videos.
    for video, you have to use steadicam or gimbal
    youtu.be/DqQIrYISESw
  • Reply 8 of 18
    Can't wait to see the forums awash with the "Sony vs LG" camera module wars in a few months.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Terrible photoshop.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    Herbivore2Herbivore2 Posts: 367member
    It's too bad what the earthquakes are doing to Japan and Sony. That being said, the Koreans make better optics. 

    The bigger issue is the modem. 

    If Intel has truly won the modem slot, it will be a major shift in the competitive landscape regarding iOS and Android. 

    Qualcomm's modem profits will be transferred to Intel. The loss of profits will hinder the development of more capable Snapdragon SOCs going forward, especially if Apple and Intel work together to develop a superior baseband product to what QCOM is able to do. With Samsung losing Apple's A series orders, their fab upgrades will slow. 

    It will mean that Android will
    be relegated to second tier hardware. 

    It is a very big deal. 

    If Intel's 3D XPoint memory is the real deal and Apple is given initial exclusive access for its mobile devices, Google will find what little remains of their high end market where the profits are, will completely disappear. 

    The hardware capabilities of the iPhone and potentially the Apple Watch will seriously outperform anything that the Android manufacturers can put together. 

    Intel is a winner also. Such a development will seriously hamstring Google's OpenPower's project in attempting to bring out a CPU that will compete with the Xeon. That's not counting the potential of getting all of Apple's modem business to the tune of several hundred million units a year. 

    Google's primary problem currently concerns Amazon. But it's nice to see that Apple and Intel are now able to potentially totally eviscerate Android. 
  • Reply 11 of 18
    I just don't see how OIS is going to be a killer feature. It's already in the 6s+ and barely makes a difference. The real bottleneck to vastly superior image quality is sensor size. 
  • Reply 12 of 18
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    I just don't see how OIS is going to be a killer feature. It's already in the 6s+ and barely makes a difference. The real bottleneck to vastly superior image quality is sensor size. 
    Well, multiple sensors through a lens array essentially can yield similar effects to a bigger sensor, which is why the dual lens setup is such a big deal...
  • Reply 13 of 18
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    It's too bad what the earthquakes are doing to Japan and Sony. That being said, the Koreans make better optics. 

    The bigger issue is the modem. 

    If Intel has truly won the modem slot, it will be a major shift in the competitive landscape regarding iOS and Android. 

    Qualcomm's modem profits will be transferred to Intel. The loss of profits will hinder the development of more capable Snapdragon SOCs going forward, especially if Apple and Intel work together to develop a superior baseband product to what QCOM is able to do. With Samsung losing Apple's A series orders, their fab upgrades will slow. 

    It will mean that Android will
    be relegated to second tier hardware. 

    It is a very big deal. 

    If Intel's 3D XPoint memory is the real deal and Apple is given initial exclusive access for its mobile devices, Google will find what little remains of their high end market where the profits are, will completely disappear. 

    The hardware capabilities of the iPhone and potentially the Apple Watch will seriously outperform anything that the Android manufacturers can put together. 

    Intel is a winner also. Such a development will seriously hamstring Google's OpenPower's project in attempting to bring out a CPU that will compete with the Xeon. That's not counting the potential of getting all of Apple's modem business to the tune of several hundred million units a year. 

    Google's primary problem currently concerns Amazon. But it's nice to see that Apple and Intel are now able to potentially totally eviscerate Android. 
    The Koreans do not make make better Optics than Japanese companies.

    Samsung's fab capabilities are not going to fall behind, they are making so many things for so many different companies they might even be turning orders away.  It wouldn't surprise me if it turned out the A10 were still being made by Samsung in significant numbers and in fact included Samsung's own modem in the SOC.

    Android will not be relegated to second tier hardware, nor with a world market-share of 84% and growing, is it in any danger of being 'eviscerated'

    staticx57
  • Reply 14 of 18
    rcfa said:
    I just don't see how OIS is going to be a killer feature. It's already in the 6s+ and barely makes a difference. The real bottleneck to vastly superior image quality is sensor size. 
    Well, multiple sensors through a lens array essentially can yield similar effects to a bigger sensor, which is why the dual lens setup is such a big deal...
    No. Not hardly. Multiple sensors may minimally improve image quality, but nothing takes the place of a larger sensor. At best the image quality might be another evolutionary step up from what we have now, which is already pretty much what we get with every new iPhone version. I think to revitalize sagging iPhone demand Apple needs to be bolder than this. 
    cnocbui
  • Reply 15 of 18
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    I just don't see how OIS is going to be a killer feature. It's already in the 6s+ and barely makes a difference. The real bottleneck to vastly superior image quality is sensor size. 
    It makes a substantial diff in low light and while shooting video. Apple's OIS is particularly good for video (the best)
  • Reply 16 of 18
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    rcfa said:
    Well, multiple sensors through a lens array essentially can yield similar effects to a bigger sensor, which is why the dual lens setup is such a big deal...
    No. Not hardly. Multiple sensors may minimally improve image quality, but nothing takes the place of a larger sensor. At best the image quality might be another evolutionary step up from what we have now, which is already pretty much what we get with every new iPhone version. I think to revitalize sagging iPhone demand Apple needs to be bolder than this. 
    OK genius, tell us your idea.
    Considering the competition has basically nothing on Apple,
     at least nothing they couldn't do themselves if they wanted to, or anything that really matters,
    how on earth would anything it does would improve sales?

    Samsung camera has slightly better quality in good light and mostly a wash in low light.
    Video, Apple is generally better.
    Screen Samsung slightly better but less durable. S7 waterproof but 6s seemingly does the same without even claiming it.

    Everything else, Apple wins or its a tie.

    Other phone makers are not even in the ballpark.on sales and features.


    edited May 2016
  • Reply 17 of 18
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    The Samsung S7 camera has considerably better low light performance than the the 6S.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    badmonk said:
    On a more concerning note the Financial Times had an article about a earthquake risk on Japan's Nankai Trough which has the potential for an 8.0 to 9.0!!! Richter Scale earthquake and 30m Tsunami waves immediately upon the earthquake.  It would devestate the heart of Japanese industrial activity and worse the government anticipates 332,000 deaths.

    The Nankai trough triggers a large earthquake every 100-150 years.  It has been quiet for 158 years.

    The article is retired reading for the Japanese their friends which includes all members of the Apple religion.
    Not to disagree but Yogi and Boo Boo are in just as much potential danger in Jellystone Park.  It's over due to take out a vey large area of the USA  and last time covered the Ohio valley with a lots of ash.  Not to mention California due for the next big one, you know, close to silicon valley.  So I am not sure Japan is he only place with geological concerns.  IMHO this all pales compared to the problems of religious and right wing extremists aka nut jobs in causing global economic disruption.
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