Roger Fingas
For the second time this year, Sony has announced plans to expand its capacity to produce CMOS camera sensor chips, particularly to deal with component orders for products like Apple's iPhone.
The company will be spending 45 billion yen ($376 million) on growing Japanese facilities in Nagasaki and Yamagata, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Just this February, Sony said it intended to invest $872.6 million in increasing CMOS production.
Sony is believed to be chiefly responsible for the camera sensors in the iPhone, which is continuing to see higher and higher sales. Just last quarter Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones, an increase of 46 percent year-over-year. The surge has been attributed to several factors, but most commonly pent-up demand for iPhones with larger screens comparable to rival products.
The main camera on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus uses an 8-megapixel sensor with unusually large pixels, measuring 1.5 microns. Added "Focus Pixel" technology speeds up autofocus. This is paired up with an f/2.2 lens, and on the 6 Plus, an optical image stabilizer.
One rumor has hinted that the next iPhone will have a dual-lens camera, enabling optical zoom. Current iPhones (and most other smartphones) only support digital zoom, which in reality simply blows up a part of an image, sacrificing detail.
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18 Comments
Good to hear. I hope Sony stay around for the long haul.
[quote name="digitalclips" url="/t/185638/sony-to-spend-376m-on-expanded-camera-sensor-production-for-iphone-other-devices#post_2705690"]Good to hear. I hope Sony stay around for the long haul.[/quote] I don't like this copycat scum company. I rather Apple make their own parts or team up with Canon who develop the best camera lens last I checked. I haven't been following the tech in years but Canon cameras are of the highest quality but I don't think they would partner with a competing device. Sony is like Sammy where they provide for competitors.
[quote name="cali" url="/t/185638/sony-to-spend-376m-on-expanded-camera-sensor-production-for-iphone-other-devices#post_2705710"] I don't like this copycat scum company. I rather Apple make their own parts or team up with Canon who develop the best camera lens last I checked. I haven't been following the tech in years but Canon cameras are of the highest quality but I don't think they would partner with a competing device. Sony is like Sammy where they provide for competitors.[/quote] What? Sony's an honorable Japanese enterprise, they got ripped off by Samsung big time as well.
I think Sony is actually one of the better companies to work with Apple. Sony screwed themselves over countless of times over the years with their archaic software-locking methods that made their great-products essentially useless.
They make good stuff. It's just the software-side is a joke.
Sony has been making inroads into photography, especially their mirrorless cameras like the A7-series that are giving dSLR's a run (arguably) for their money. They truly do make good hardware in my opinion. They just need to stay out of anything that involves creating software. Like Corning's Gorilla Glass, Sony's camera division is making serious change due to its relationship with Apple. They just better not do anything to screw it up.
If Apple can find someone (Sony) to make their components to their exacting - almost clinical OCD expectations - then I think that's fine. It's one less industry it doesn't have to absorb. Making cameras takes a lot of work, capital, etc.. I don't want Apple getting into the lens-polishing business.
What the hell are you talking about? Sony has been one of the biggest innovators in the game. I think you're confusing Sony with Samsung...there's a true copycat scum company.