Supplier rumored to provide 5MP iPhone camera upgrade in 2010

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Apple could ship between 40 million and 45 million iPhones in 2010, well up from the 20 million estimated in 2009, and will add a 5-megapixel camera to next year's phone, a new report claims.



Citing industry sources, Taiwanese publication DigiTimes said OmniVision, the supplier of CMOS image sensors for the iPhone, expects to see demand for its sensors in iPhones grow exponentially -- as high as 45 million. The report also said that OmniVision is set to supply a 5-megapixel camera for the next-generation iPhone, due to arrive in the second half of 2010.



In April, it was revealed that OmniVision was selected to provide the 3.2-megapixel sensor for the then-forthcoming iPhone 3GS. The supplier beat out Aptina, which provided the 2-megapixel camera used in the previous iPhone 3G.



OmniVision is expected to ship about 65 million total units to Apple in 2009, when the addition of iPods is included. The company also reportedly makes the sensor used for the 0.3-megapixel video camera in the latest iPod nano.



The company was also rumored to supply a camera for the latest iPod touch, though the part was eventually not included due to alleged hardware issues. Sources have told AppleInsider that a camera-equipped iPod touch remains in the plans for Apple's future products.



Evidence for plans of a camera in the iPod touch was bolstered by third-party cases with camera holes and even photos and video of an alleged prototype of the hardware. After it was released and taken apart, it was discovered that the new hardware includes space for an iPod nano-style video camera inside.



It should be noted that in August, DigiTimes also incorrectly reported that the iPod classic would receive a camera upgrade.



OmniVision is expected to ramp up its production of sensors beginning in the first quarter of 2010. The company was profitable last quarter for the first time in over a year, earning $8.1 million. Last year, the company lost $5.3 million in the same frame.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    So wait for the upgrade to 5MP before buying, fine with me.



    After all if your going to take a picture, might as well take one that one can make decent 8 x 10 prints of.



    I often see many good picture potentials, but don't always carry my camera, but one nearly always carries their cell phone.



    Of course there is a problem with zoom with the iPhone...but with 5MP, you really can only zoom a little bit, just to crop out. Too much and too far, your picture gets distorted.



    Heck anything is better than 2MP though.
  • Reply 2 of 29
    Who cares about pixels. How about a sensor that does a decent job in low-light situations? I'm tired of being at clubs and watch everyone else take nice pictures with their cell phones and all I can get is dark blurry faces...
  • Reply 3 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnmcboston View Post


    Who cares about pixels. How about a sensor that does a decent job in low-light situations? I'm tired of being at clubs and watch everyone else take nice pictures with their cell phones and all I can get is dark blurry faces...



    Agreed. People are so taken in by the megapixels hype without considering the quality of the actual hardware and optics.
  • Reply 4 of 29
    Duncare. Getting it all as a bonus next summer. He-he, 3GSees, loving AT&T?
  • Reply 5 of 29
    It's not really important for me if it's 3, 5 or 12 megapixels.

    What is important is to put in some optics that works much better than what Omnivision have delivered so far.

    My old Sony Ericsson 2MP camera takes better pictures than my Iphone 3GS... which sucks so bad.
  • Reply 6 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Napoleon_PhoneApart View Post


    Agreed. People are so taken in by the megapixels hype without considering the quality of the actual hardware and optics.



    I just hope it is better than my 5MP droid that takes just terrible photos.
  • Reply 7 of 29
    Can they stick a flash in it somehow? So many dark photos without one....
  • Reply 8 of 29
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Quote:

    It should be noted that in August, DigiTimes also incorrectly reported that the iPod classic would receive a camera upgrade.



    DigiTimes is the worst source of tech news on the planet.
  • Reply 9 of 29
    Flash please (both connotations)
  • Reply 10 of 29
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Katonah View Post


    Can they stick a flash in it somehow? So many dark photos without one....



    I thought the idea of turnings the Apple logo into an LED flash was really good as it hides the light. I too am tired of the photo quality. It's not the resolution that needs fixing. The color noise is terrible.
  • Reply 11 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    I thought the idea of turnings the Apple logo into an LED flash was really good as it hides the light. I too am tired of the photo quality. It's not the resolution that needs fixing. The color noise is terrible.





    Not only would it conceal the LED but if they used the right material they could use it as a diffuser for much better photo lighting.
  • Reply 12 of 29
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    I only need enough pixels to allow a little cropping and still have enough for a 4x6 print. I would never blow up any camera phone picture to 8x10, regardless of how many pixels it has it would be a pretty poor print. 3.2 megapixels is plenty for a 5x7 print. I'd rather they stick with that and focus on improving the quality (color, sensitivity, etc) of those pixels for faster shutter speeds. Most of the blurry cell phone photos you see are due to slow shutter speeds, not poor focusing.



    However, the public are idiots and will continue to beg for more pixels, so that's what Apple will be forced to deliver or risk being perceived as falling behind.
  • Reply 13 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnmcboston View Post


    Who cares about pixels. How about a sensor that does a decent job in low-light situations? I'm tired of being at clubs and watch everyone else take nice pictures with their cell phones and all I can get is dark blurry faces...



    Absolutely.



    It's even more critical with video since the minimum shutter speed is 1/60 second. You need a sensor that maximizes light gathering ability since you can't use flash for video. An onboard video light on an iPhone would be useless due to lack of coverage and battery consumption.
  • Reply 14 of 29
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    Duncare. Getting it all as a bonus next summer. He-he, 3GSees, loving AT&T?



    Since you post from France, I wonder what your level of personal experience is with AT&T?
  • Reply 15 of 29
    Unfortunately, even with 25 megapixels you won't be able to make 8x10 prints, or crop and make 4x6 prints, because the lens is about 1mm in diameter and there's just no way for it to resolve more than about 2 megapixels of detail, at the absolute best.



    Every time they bump up the resolution of the camera, it doesn't make the pictures sharper, it just takes up more space on the camera and more memory in your picture editing apps.



    Given that a larger lens would ruin the aesthetics of the phone, you're much better off wishing for a sensor with lower noise, so that less of the resolution is lost to fuzz in low light.
  • Reply 16 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bennett View Post


    Unfortunately, even with 25 megapixels you won't be able to make 8x10 prints, or crop and make 4x6 prints, because the lens is about 1mm in diameter and there's just no way for it to resolve more than about 2 megapixels of detail, at the absolute best.



    Every time they bump up the resolution of the camera, it doesn't make the pictures sharper, it just takes up more space on the camera and more memory in your picture editing apps.



    Given that a larger lens would ruin the aesthetics of the phone, you're much better off wishing for a sensor with lower noise, so that less of the resolution is lost to fuzz in low light.



    Wow. one frikn post that has any bit of sense to it. Nice 1st post.

    Welcome. You will be tremendously frustrated here in short time.
  • Reply 17 of 29
    mellomello Posts: 555member
    I wouldn't mind a front-facing camera for wifi video iChatting.
  • Reply 18 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NeilM View Post


    Since you post from France, I wonder what your level of personal experience is with AT&T?



    -1, which I'm particularly proud of!
  • Reply 19 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IHateRegistering View Post


    My 10-year old Sony Cybershot was <2MP but took gorgeous photos due to high quality optics..



    You gotta be kidding me! Sony always loved to go "Carl Zeiss lens" especially back then. Problem was their sensors were the noisiest pieces of shit I've ever used with next to no colour consistency on any colour/level (except the Fuji S500 which promptly got returned to the store).
  • Reply 20 of 29
    What's really fascinating is how all the hatred of AT&T and their crappy service, dropped calls, poor voice quality, lost signals, few bars, lost voice mails or whatever complaints can be so quickly tossed aside by a simple story as "iPhone to have 5 Mega Pixel Camera!"



    Then everybody goes into their, pro or con viewpoints of a 5 MP Camera on the iPhone or need for a flash or a front facing camera. For what? So when you get it, you go back to saying I hate AT&T and their crappy service for absolutely ruining the iPhone experience?



    Out of all the replies I have read from the various Rumor/News sites that posted the 5 MP Camera for the iPhone rumor, did I come across one saying...



    "Of all the things I wish the iPhone had regarding internals and specs, I wish Apple would put a miniature AT&T MicroCell like contracption to increase AT&T signal strength, since AT&T is apparently not doing enough, fast enough to improve the network, seeing that AT&T is the sole carrier for the iPhone for now and then I wouldn't have to watch on SNL a "news" skit about the iPhone challenge of being a phone!



    So, we'll get our 5MP iPhone camera and then it's back to AT&T sucks, I wish the iPhone was on Verizon!



    HO! HO!, HO
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