iPhone 6S might stick with 8MP camera hardware

After the launch of Apple's impressive new iPhone 6, a lot of attention was paid to the refresh. Many assume the iPhone 6S (if Apple sticks to their existing naming scheme, which isn't a foregone conclusion) would have a camera that packed in more magapixels, and an updated chipset. The megapixel rumor was bolstered when Sony announced a new DSLR-ish sensor for mobile devices, which many believed would find its way to the iPhone 6S. A new report says that might have to wait, because Apple is keeping their 8 megapixel shooter for one more year.

The 8 megapixel shooter has been around since the iPhone 4S, though Apple has updated it for every iPhone release since. Other manufacturers have subscribed to the megapixel race, with some mobile devices boasting up to 20.7 megapixel cameras.

Talk of the 8 megapixel camera first surfaced in the Taipei Times, who focus on Largan Precision Company — a smartphone camera lens supplier for Apple — as cause for thinking Apple will keep their existing camera hardware mostly untouched. Analyst Jeff Pu downgraded Largan Precision's stock due to lower than expected sales last month as iPhone 6 demand tapered off.

Pu said the camera hardware would stay the same as we find it on the iPhone 6, but didn't cite reason for why that might be. He did point to a 'limited supply of CMOS sensors', which suggests Apple has yet to solidify their own supply chain for updated camera hardware, as they're wont to do.

The iPhone 6S camera will likely be the same as the existing hardware, which means no extra pixels. We may end up with the iPhone 6 Plus camera, though, which packs in OIS for steadier shots. Either way, the iPhone still takes more reliable (and often better) shots than any other mobile device around, so 8 megapixels is just fine.

Source: The Taipei Times

Via: GforGames