Despite Apple being just days away from revealing the iPhone 8, the 2018 iPhone rumour mill is already starting to churn merrily away, with the latest speculation pointing to a seriously boosted camera.
The iPhone 9, or potentially iPhone 8S, could have much higher resolution lens modules if reports from Digitimes based Apple supply chain sources are accurate.
Apple will apparently use Taiwanese company Largan Precision to make the camera lenses, given it is one of the few suppliers that can handle production of such parts in the volumes needed for new iPhone releases.
And the rumours come at a time when Largan Precision has a new factory due to open in October with the capacity to deliver a monthly production of 600 million lens modules.
With a new manufacturer comes rumours of an upgraded camera for 2018’s iPhone, which will take the megapixel count beyond the 12MP found in the cameras on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The current iPhone 7 camera delivers strong results but come 2018 it will be well due for a full upgrade.
The iPhone 8, due to be announced September 12, will likely bring in some camera tweaks, with a strong chance of the phone making use of the dual camera array found in the iPhone 7 Plus for all models of the phone.
But Apple is not likely to give the lens a massive boost in resolution this year. Instead, Tim Cook’s crew has probably tweaked the software behind the camera and changed the hardware layout to have the dual camera array orientated vertically, rather than horizontally – or at least, that’s what a number of renders based on leaked information seem to suggest.
Augmented reality (AR) could be the main camera focus of the iPhone 8, particularly as some companies are already tapping into the iPhone’s AR potential facilitated by Apple’s ARKit in the forthcoming iOS 11 release.
Related: iPhone 10 Year Anniversary Edition
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
