The number of pixels increased for the first time in 7 years? The iPhone 14 Pro may have a Sony 48-megapixel camera sensor!
The iPhone's camera sensor has 12 million pixels and has been stationary for about 7 years. A rumor was published in the Industrial Times that the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro would have a 48-megapixel camera sensor.
According to an article in Kosho Jiho, the cooperative relationship between Sony, a major CMOS image sensor, and TSMC, a leading semiconductor manufacturer, has expanded. , said it will step up production of camera sensors. In fact, as reported by the Nikkei the other day, Denso will join the new semiconductor factory in Kumamoto, which is operated by a joint venture between TSMC and Sony, and an investment of just under 1 trillion yen will be made, an increase of 200 billion yen from the initial plan. Added. Until now, Sony has consistently produced pixel chips in its own factories, but with the shortage of semiconductors becoming constant and demand rising in all industries, Sony is no exception and has been able to meet the demand. It doesn't seem like
The expansion of collaboration between Sony and TSMC and the increase in capital at the Kumamoto factory seem to be aimed at supplying the 48-megapixel sensor that will be debuted in Apple's iPhone 14 Pro. Considering the annual iPhone shipments of about 200 million units, the number of parts Apple requires is too large. If the 48-megapixel sensor is installed in the iPhone 14 Pro, it is said that the amount of wafers required for semiconductor manufacturing must be doubled, and Sony, which is suffering from a semiconductor manufacturing shortage, cannot handle it alone. Therefore, it seems that the company plans to strengthen the relationship with TSMC and plans to manufacture pixel sensors at the new Kumamoto factory. The iPhone has been updated every year so far, and software enhancements have made it possible to take beautiful pictures, but the hardware has been modest. However, when the camera sensor is upgraded in the iPhone 14 Pro model, the number of pixels will increase significantly for the first time in seven years since the iPhone 6s. If 48 million pixels is true, I can only expect this year's iPhone! Source: Kosho Jiho, Nikkei
Yoshiki Ohno