The iPhone 14 lineup is on track for a September release barring any unexpected delays. The latest bit of information regarding the flagship lineup comes from TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. According to Kuo, Sunny Optical will be the largest supplier of wide-camera 7P lenses for the iPhone 14.
Apple gives huge lens order to Sunny Optical, component suppliers Largan and Genius negatively impacted
The rear-end camera for this year’s iPhone 14 Pro is expected to receive a significant upgrade from the iPhone 13 Pro’s 12MP sensor to a 48MP sensor. This will enable 8K video recording – which would be a first for iPhone. The smartphone will also continue to have a three-lens array on the rear end.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo’s sources, component manufacturer Sunny Optical has received the largest share of Apple’s wide-camera 7P lens orders.
The shipment allocation of Sunny Optical’s high-end wide 7P lens (used in two high-end iPhone 14 Pro) and lower-end wide 7P lens (used in two lower-end iPhone 14) was 50–60% and 55- 65%, respectively. The proportion of the supply of Largan and Genius is about the same.
Kuo further adds that wide-lens orders are the largest contributors to profit. So, Sunny Optical’s increased market share will also impact Largan and Genius’ profit. To continue serving as Apple’s main wide-lens supplier, Sunny Optical will likely offer aggressive pricing and increase its capacity as well as improve its production.
Finally, Kuo predicts that Sunny Optical could become the main supplier of the Time of Flight (ToF) lens for the iPhone 15 lineup next year. Currently, the ToF sensor, or the LiDAR sensor on some iPhones, is supplied by Genius.
In related news to Genius, Kuo reported in late July that Apple transferred an order of 10 million lenses from Genius to Largan due to quality issues. If Genius does not resolve the quality issues as soon as possible, more of its orders will be given to Largan to avoid any delays in the upcoming lineup’s launch.
This year, Apple is dropping the mini model in favor of a larger standard 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max. In addition to this, we know that Apple will be increasing the exclusivity factor of its Pro models this year with a ton of features only coming to the higher-end iPhones.
This year’s standard iPhone 14 model will feature the same design as its predecessor with the same A15 chip. On the other hand, the Pro models are expected to get a new pill + hole punch cutout for the display, front camera upgrades as well as rumored features like an always-on display. All models will feature 6GB of RAM.
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