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Apple's Custom Image Sensor Could Debut in 20th Anniversary iPhone

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Apple could debut LOFIC camera sensor technology in its 2027 iPhone lineup, according to new information coming out of Korea. The tech would allow iPhones to capture photos with far more detail in both bright and dark areas of the same shot without losing information in either.

All-Screen-iPhone-2027-Feature-1.jpg

LOFIC, or Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor, is a next-generation imaging technology that enables each pixel to store varying amounts of light based on scene brightness. This allows a sensor to capture detail in both bright highlights and dark shadows within a single frame, potentially reaching up to 20 stops of dynamic range – comparable to high-end cinema cameras and approaching the range of human vision.

According to the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, Chinese manufacturers including Honor, Xiaomi, and Huawei plan to adopt LOFIC technology in their 2026 flagship smartphones using new Sony sensors, while OPPO and Vivo are also developing LOFIC-equipped models for release next year. Apple's adoption will reportedly follow in 2027.

Apple first detailed LOFIC in an image sensor patent filed in July, describing a stacked sensor design with a dedicated light-capture layer and a processing layer that handles real-time noise reduction. Apple has reportedly already developed a working prototype and may be testing it in developmental hardware.

Apple currently uses sensors made by Sony across the iPhone lineup. Those sensors also use a two-layer design, but Apple's proposed version includes several innovative features and takes up less space. Based on the adoption roadmap in today's report, Apple could be planning to debut its custom image sensor in the 20th anniversary iPhone. Apple is reportedly considering a radical redesign for the anniversary model that could feature a completely bezel-less display that curves around all four edges of the device.

Article Link: Apple's Custom Image Sensor Could Debut in 20th Anniversary iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/27/apple-custom-image-sensor-20th-anniversary-iphone/
"potentially reaching up to 20 stops of dynamic range – comparable to high-end cinema cameras and approaching the range of human vision."

Common... Where are those high-end cinema cameras with 20 stops?? I want one!

Profesional cameras have something like 14 stops... while top cameras like Alexas and medium format photo cameras can reach 16 stops of dynamic range.
 
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Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor…

Apple how much money do you want? Here are my bank details. Just get as much money as you want and give us that technology xD
Marketing over all.
 
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Rychiar said:
kinda is when everyone always beats em to the punch. miss the days when they lead the pack instead of always playing catch up
Click to expand...
Like when they were the first to make a digital music player, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a laptop? Oh, wait. 🤔

Apple didn't get to where they are now by being first at everything, they got there by doing things better than the competition. Best example I can think of of Apple being first was with digital assistants, and we all know how well Siri works. :rolleyes: Personally, I think it's better for Apple to wait to see what does and doesn't work before implementing anything. In the grand scheme of things, no, a year is not that long to wait for what will hopefully be a better implementation of the technology.
 
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I'm to a point where I literally don't care if anything new is ever added to iPhones outside of cameras. I want to see crazy camera improvements and just add as much battery life here and there as technology improves.
 
If Apple release a mini as anniversary phone, I would be interested.
But the chance of that is more slim than the phones they never will do, I would assume.

I'm Waiting for next CEO for anything really interesting happening at Apple.
Cook has never been much for the customers.
 
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Rychiar said:
Apple, always gotta be last :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Despite Apple's rep for innovation, they haven't really been on the cutting edge of technology; rather they take existing tech and put their spin on it as a fast follower. That's not to say they don't innovate and improve existing technology, just they often are not the first past the post. Often their innovation is radical, but it involved already existing technology; innovation isn't always being the first with an idea or tech but how you implement it.
 
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iamgalt said:
Best example I can think of of Apple being first was with digital assistants, and we all know how well Siri works.
Click to expand...

Even IBM beat them to the punch with the Simon PDA and with voice recognition with the Shoebox. Apple, however, clearly innovated in the implementation of those ideas, and the Simon was simply ahead of the time since cellular networks were in their infancy. Even Siri was not created by Apple but by SRI and Nuance, also an SRI spinoff.
 
iamgalt said:
Like when they were the first to make a digital music player, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a laptop? Oh, wait. 🤔

Apple didn't get to where they are now by being first at everything, they got there by doing things better than the competition. Best example I can think of of Apple being first was with digital assistants, and we all know how well Siri works. :rolleyes: Personally, I think it's better for Apple to wait to see what does and doesn't work before implementing anything. In the grand scheme of things, no, a year is not that long to wait for what will hopefully be a better implementation of the technology.
Click to expand...
again, I said I miss the days when they weren't playing catch up
 
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BNBMS said:
I think a curved sensor would be a better technology in terms of image quality, lens size, and specs.
Click to expand...
this is cool technology but from what I understand no one has figured out how to produce these at scale.
 
Rychiar said:
kinda is when everyone always beats em to the punch. miss the days when they lead the pack instead of always playing catch up
Click to expand...
I'd rather have a better and more polished version of a technology than short-lived bragging rights to the "first" version. Not saying Apple always does it better, but they do have a track record of taking existing tech and packaging it really well into their products.
 
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Miamtl said:
They are solely seeking this to improve profits margin and stop buying from Sony
Click to expand...
Hate to break it to you, but all corporations are seeking to improve their profit margins. That's literally their entire purpose.

Anyway, if cutting out Sony is as successful as cutting out Intel, sounds like a good idea to me.
 
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ignatius345 said:
Hate to break it to you, but all corporations are seeking to improve their profit margins. That's literally their entire purpose.

Anyway, if cutting out Sony is as successful as cutting out Intel, sounds like a good idea to me.
Click to expand...
yes, exactly. ditto re Qualcomm -- Apple's modem efforts so far (C1, C1X) appear to be quite solid, so maybe they can work similar magic in the image sensor space.
 
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