LG Innotek may supply 5MP camera for Apple's fourth-gen iPhone

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
LG Innotek will serve as the supplier of 5-megapixel camera sensors for Apple's next-generation iPhone due to ship this spring, according to a report out of the Far East.



The Chosun reported Wednesday that the Korea-based electronics component maker began "producing the sophisticated cameras at its plant in Gumi this month and will mass produce them starting in the second half of this year."



The report contradicts one from Taiwanese rumor publication DigiTimes issued this past December, in which it said that OmniVision, the supplier of CMOS image sensors for the current iPhone, expected to see demand for its sensors in iPhones grow exponentially -- as high as 45 million -- after it secured a deal to supply a 5-megapixel camera for the next-generation iPhone.



In addition to the camera upgrade from 3.2 megapixels to 5.0 megapixels, this year's iPhone model is also expect to gain a camera flash. People familiar with the matter first revealed such plans to AppleInsider back in January, explaining that Apple had been shopping around for LED camera flash components and may have settled on Philips' LUXEON LED camera flash technology.



Since then, there has been substantial supporting evidence supporting those claims, such as the presence of camera flash functions in Apple's pre-release builds of iPhone Software 4.0, which were also first revealed by AppleInsider.







Apple's fourth-generation iPhone, which was undressed in its entirety this month after one of the company's baseband engineers lost a prototype model that was found, then sold to and exploited by Gizmodo, is also expected to ship with a front-facing video camera that will work with a mobile version of Apple's iChat video conferencing software set to debut at the same time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    'May'?



    Wow. Overwhelmed. OK.
  • Reply 2 of 39
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Give me that and 720p video and it's probably enough to replace most people's point and shoots.
  • Reply 3 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    'May'?



    Wow. Overwhelmed. OK.



    Does that mean you are aware of the quality of these camera modules?
  • Reply 4 of 39
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ecking View Post


    Give me that and 720p video and it's probably enough to replace most people's point and shoots.



    No optical zoom, no image stabization, far inferior sensor size... Yeah, I think I'll stick with my iPhone, P&S, and D-SLR. They all have their place.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    I guess 5MP is the next logical step for the iPhone camera as Apple's never been at the forefront of the phone MP race. As long as the quality is high I suppose that's fine for now.



    Hey what's the SOTA for front facing/chat cams these days? We thinking 1.3MP for the front camera? Less? More?



    Interested as I assume the front camera will find its way into the iPad rev B...
  • Reply 6 of 39
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Look like both my wish lists gonna come true: multi-tasking & 5mp camera. No need for Point&Shoot for me again. When I wanna be serious then I would just use my DSLR, but most of the time I guess this new iPhone should be fine.
  • Reply 7 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anthonymoody View Post


    I guess 5MP is the next logical step for the iPhone camera as Apple's never been at the forefront of the phone MP race. As long as the quality is high I suppose that's fine for now.



    Hey what's the SOTA for front facing/chat cams these days? We thinking 1.3MP for the front camera? Less? More?



    I think the iSight camera in Macs and LED ACD is still only 0.3Mpx, which seems sufficient for a phone's processor and RAM and guaranteed to be wireless. This is really seems like a novelty feature anyway so I don't think they have to set any records in this area, especially when they clearly aren't trying to do it with their main camera's megapixel count.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    The problem of course is that these high MP cell phone cameras often leave a lot to be desired. Frankly though I have little use for the camera on my iPhone.



    Speaking of which Apple could go a long way to improving the iPhones camera by adding an advanced mode. Give us control over exposure and other parameters so we can compose decent shots.



    In any event here is hoping for a real improvement inquality which ought to be possible given the rapid pace of innovation. The other thing I'm wondering about is does the vendor change reflect a falling out with the current vendor over the bungled Touch launch? I'm left with the impression that the last minute Touch changes really pissed off management at Apple.



    Dave
  • Reply 9 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ecking View Post


    Give me that and 720p video and it's probably enough to replace most people's point and shoots.



    Same MP != quality. And good lord, the quality in ANY camera phone is probably never going to be a point and shoot simply because of the size of the sensor. And a point and shoot will never be better than a DSLR for the same reason.



    Let's just acknowledge that camera phones are great because you can carry them everywhere and leave it at that.
  • Reply 10 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    The problem of course is that these high MP cell phone cameras often leave a lot to be desired. Frankly though I have little use for the camera on my iPhone.



    Speaking of which Apple could go a long way to improving the iPhones camera by adding an advanced mode. Give us control over exposure and other parameters so we can compose decent shots.



    In any event here is hoping for a real improvement inquality which ought to be possible given the rapid pace of innovation. The other thing I'm wondering about is does the vendor change reflect a falling out with the current vendor over the bungled Touch launch? I'm left with the impression that the last minute Touch changes really pissed off management at Apple.



    Dave



    Any user who wants stuff like that should and will never be satisfied with what a cameraphone-sized sensor will produce. -_-
  • Reply 11 of 39
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    Any user who wants stuff like that should and will never be satisfied with what a cameraphone-sized sensor will produce. -_-



    As they say, "the best camera is the one you have on you."
  • Reply 12 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    Same MP != quality. And good lord, the quality in ANY camera phone is probably never going to be a point and shoot simply because of the size of the sensor. And a point and shoot will never be better than a DSLR for the same reason.



    Let's just acknowledge that camera phones are great because you can carry them everywhere and leave it at that.



    Never say never. Nokia just put a sensor that is 30% bigger than a P&S one in the N8. 12MP in their case is a little bit of overkill, but still the example pictures are pretty good as is the 720P video. Plus it has a real Xenon flash, not a lame LED one.



    I think Apple still has a way to go to catch up on the cutting edge.



    Front facing camera are usually VGA at most. The 3GPP specs for 3G support circuit switched video calls since Release 99 and it has been possible to make video calls in Europe since early 2000's. So nearly all 3G phones in Europe have front facing camera and almost no-one uses them. Still, it has been extremely funny to read articles in CNet, etc. over the years where the clueless American reviewer was thinking that the front camera was for checking your makeup or taking pictures of yourself .
  • Reply 13 of 39
    jahonenjahonen Posts: 364member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    Same MP != quality. And good lord, the quality in ANY camera phone is probably never going to be a point and shoot simply because of the size of the sensor. .



    Never say never.



    For unretouched photos from the development version of a phone that has a sensor roughly 30% bigger (1/1.83" vs. 1/2.5") than most point-and-shoots with 12 Mpix and Carl-Zeiss optics,720p video capture and HDMI out:



    http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/...-n8-untouched/



    SE is rumoured to do the same soon. The Koreans will copy quickly (Samsung already has 12Mpix but with a smaller sensor).



    But those are only features that nobody wants



    Regs, Jarkko
  • Reply 14 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jodyfanning View Post


    Front facing camera are usually VGA at most. The 3GPP specs for 3G support circuit switched video calls since Release 99 and it has been possible to make video calls in Europe since early 2000's. So nearly all 3G phones in Europe have front facing camera and almost no-one uses them...



    I'm from Europe, never seen a phone with front facing camera. Maybe some camera's introduced a few months ago have this feature.



    Anyway it isn't the most important factor that you have a front facing camera (it is of course a necessity); you must actually be able to do something with it.

    And I have never seen an easy to use application like iChat on a mobile phone.

    Also, communication must be using the internet (IP) protocol and "3GPP specs for 3G support circuit switched video calls" doesn't sound like that.



    J
  • Reply 15 of 39
    jahonenjahonen Posts: 364member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jnjnjnjn View Post


    I'm from Europe, never seen a phone with front facing camera. Maybe some camera's introduced a few months ago have this feature.



    Anyway it isn't the most important factor that you have a front facing camera (it is of course a necessity); you must actually be able to do something with it.

    And I have never seen an easy to use application like iChat on a mobile phone.

    Also, communication must be using the internet (IP) protocol and "3GPP specs for 3G support circuit switched video calls" doesn't sound like that.



    J



    Actually most do have them and have had them for years and years. They're just pretty tiny so you may have missed them. On mine it looks more like a pinhole than a camera.



    What do you mean "it must use IP"? Why would it? Your current voice calls aren't are they?



    Not easy? To make a two-way video call, all you have to do is select your contact and select "make video call" instead of "make a voice call". Usually you have to go via "options" or something as it's not the default mode of making a call but it's not difficult. As jfanning pointed out: it's been available for at least 7 years , easy to use, but who on earth would want to watch a talking head when on a call? The masses in Europe and Asia have so far said "no need".



    Sure Apple marketing can change that. And maybe iChat on the iPhone will bring something dramatically new (my imagination doesn't stretch that far). One of the issues against video calls is you need a headset to keep the call private. Also the receiver needs to be in a place/situation capable of either using speakerphone or headset. If you're not on headset or speakerphone, you're sending a picture of your sexy ear. Kind of limits the usability of the feature.



    Regs, Jarkko
  • Reply 16 of 39
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jahonen View Post


    Never say never.



    For unretouched photos from the development version of a phone that has a sensor roughly 30% bigger (1/1.83" vs. 1/2.5") than most point-and-shoots with 12 Mpix and Carl-Zeiss optics,720p video capture and HDMI out:



    http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/...-n8-untouched/



    SE is rumoured to do the same soon. The Koreans will copy quickly (Samsung already has 12Mpix but with a smaller sensor).



    But those are only features that nobody wants



    Regs, Jarkko



    I have a few reservations-questions after reading the article.

    1) How come no low light photos, the author even ignores peoples questions about how it does in low light and fast moving pics.

    2) If it outputs to jpeg how much noise will we see introduced, if exported in some native raw format, how exactly does one take more than 1 or 2 pictures without eating up every last bit of on board memory, maxing out cpu cycles and not flatlining the battery?
  • Reply 17 of 39
    caljomaccaljomac Posts: 122member
    Wow....so they're close to release if they're giving info like that.
  • Reply 18 of 39
    jahonenjahonen Posts: 364member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    I have a few reservations-questions after reading the article.

    1) How come no low light photos, the author even ignores peoples questions about how it does in low light and fast moving pics.

    2) If it outputs to jpeg how much noise will we see introduced, if exported in some native raw format, how exactly does one take more than 1 or 2 pictures without eating up every last bit of on board memory, maxing out cpu cycles and not flatlining the battery?



    About low light: Could be that they are not satisfied with the results yet or that they haven't taken any "official" night shots yet. You don't often see low light samples even in camera vendor's publicity example shots.



    For the rest, we'll have to wait until the phone is in the hands of reviewers and/or more pictures are released.



    Naturally pictures in bright sunlight are easy to make. But at least in those conditions it seems to offer similar performance to your standard P&S. For fast moving pics, someone rumoured that the sensor is 1/1000s capable.



    I doubt you'll see raw on this thing. You don't really see it on most P&Ss either.



    This was just a convenient example of "never say never" to the "phone sensor sizes will never be as good as what we get even on P&Ss" argument. Not to be viewed as a "look, this is better than 5Mpix on iPhone HD". A 5 Mpix sensor can give out better results than a 12 Mpix one. We'll have to wait for reviews to find out.



    Regs, Jarkko
  • Reply 19 of 39
    Why is it whenever we see an improved camera some clever cloggs has to remind us that megapixels doesn't always mean quality and go into the whole pre amble bullshit about how it doesn't really compare to a real digi cam or SLR.



    We know that but for the odd pic (which is the purpose or a camera phone) it does improve it somewhat. Get over it.
  • Reply 20 of 39
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jahonen View Post


    As jfanning pointed out:



    Not me, same surname, different person.
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