Apple cancels plans for revolutionary quantum dot iPhone camera: Report

According to a recent report, Apple has cancelled its plans to introduce quantum dot camera technology to the iPhone range with a very costly backtrack.

The Telegraph has reported that Apple has cancelled its partnership with Nanoco for the development of quantum dot cameras. Shares of Nanoco dropped by 80% last week after news that a major customer, officially unnamed, had dropped out of the project which was reportedly worth £17.1 million ($21.7 million), more than half of Nanoco’s current revenue.

This news surely means we’ll have to wait a while longer to see groundbreaking quantum dot tech reaching iPhone cameras.

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Quantum dots can enhance image quality by improving colour accuracy. A version of the technology has already been used to some extent with QLED TV screens but we’ve yet to see it in action on a smartphone screen or camera yet.

The accurate colour representation could give a boost for iPhones over other camera competitors such as the Google Pixel 3 and the Huawei P30 Pro, both of which offer market-leading camera quality. We were impressed by the iPhone XS‘ camera performance in areas such as dynamic range but in general, we felt it was losing ground compared to its Android competitors.

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While this news might be considered as a setback for Apple, we’ve already heard exciting rumours for its upcoming new flagship, the iPhone 11. It’s expected to have a rear triple camera set-up, which has been seen frequently on Android phones but would actually be a first for Apple. Hopefully, this translates as a big step-up in quality from the cameras on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

Fortunately, we won’t have to wait much longer to see the next model in the series unveiled, as it is expected to be announced in late September and to go on sale shortly afterwards.