Stocks of Largan Precision, the company that supplies iPhone camera module, fell by nearly 7 percent on news that iPhone 6 may not come with an upgraded 13 or 16-megapixel camera.
The China Post reports:
According to Nomura Securities, Largan’s recently lagging performance in the market is caused by rumors that Apple may adopt an 8 mega-pixel (MP) camera with improved optical image stabilization on its upcoming handset, instead of the 16 MP upgrade anticipated by industry observers. Apple’s decision is based on the design requirement to retain the handset’s more portable form factor, said Nomura Securities. In addition, the company’s prospects are also expected to slump in the first quarter, with revenues expected to decline by 33 percent in the traditional slow season.
Largan retains a leading edge among competing suppliers, as even though the camera’s pixel count remains the same, the company is among the few companies capable of coping with the complexity of the camera module, said Nomura Securities. The production of smaller-factored camera modules would require significantly improved optical aperture and resolution attributes, which are the company’s competitive strengths, said Nomura Securities.
Apple first introduced an 8-megapixel rear camera on the iPhone 4s back in 2011 and used similar modules for the iPhone 5 in 2012 and iPhone 5c last year. Apple’s 2013 flagship iPhone 5s model continues to use an 8-megapixel sensor, but achieves significant camera improvements through increased pixel size, a larger aperture, new “True Tone” dual LED flash, software enhancements, and more.
If this rumor turns out to be true, then Apple would not have gone for a higher resolution camera for second year in a row. iPhone 5s launched last year also comes with an 8-megapixel camera like the iPhone 5 launched in 2012. iPhone 5s camera however offers significant improvements such as larger image sensor, f/2.2 aperture, true tone flash and offers features such as slow-motion video, burst mode and more.
