Sony CEO Confirms Camera Module Production for Apple? 8-MP Camera on iPhone 5?

[Thunderhawks]

So why not fit the Proven iPhone4 cameras in the iPad then?
The cost had been ramped down due to the camera being out virtually a year, so it's all done and dusted and just needed fitting.
Price wise about $5 dollars more.

I can't see any real reason to hold it back apart from a deliberate ploy to fit something bad to give people a strong reason to upgrade to iPad3.

Unless there are negatives in doing so, Price, Weight etc? Why deliberately fit something bad?

Availability?

With the millions of these the iphone takes maybe adding the millions the ipad2 would use is beyond the current capacity of their manufacturers?

Or, if production capacity would have meant to introduce the ipad2 later, they used what was available at the time.

As for $ 5 more, multiply that with the amount of devices they make and it's millions of dollars. In any company a net cost of $ 5 doesn't stay that way. It gets multiplied up to retail.

Deliberate ploy, don't think so. But, since we both don't have any proof..........

 

[QuarterSwede]

Availability?

With the millions of these the iphone takes maybe adding the millions the ipad2 would use is beyond the current capacity of their manufacturers?

Or, if production capacity would have meant to introduce the ipad2 later, they used what was available at the time.

As for $ 5 more, multiply that with the amount of devices they make and it's millions of dollars. In any company a net cost of $ 5 doesn't stay that way. It gets multiplied up to retail.

Deliberate ploy, don't think so. But, since we both don't have any proof..........

Good theories. It's definitely a lot more complicated than people realize.

 

[DotCom2]

Next week's front page story: "Sony guy loses job after Steve Jobs rips Sony CEO a new @ss for leak."

Have you ever heard of "Controlled Leaks"?

 

[RubbishBBspeed]

Have you ever heard of "Controlled Leaks"?

I may be wrong but i think he was being ironic.

Although it's nice to see apple returning back to some reputable suppliers.

Heres hoping iPhone 5 isn't supplied broken as standard. I would actually like to buy this one this time.

 

[Kissaragi]

The current camera on the iPhone 4 is stellar IMO and many others... an equal 8MP camera would be even better....

I agree, its a great camera overall.

Availability?

With the millions of these the iphone takes maybe adding the millions the ipad2 would use is beyond the current capacity of their manufacturers?

Or, if production capacity would have meant to introduce the ipad2 later, they used what was available at the time.

As for $ 5 more, multiply that with the amount of devices they make and it's millions of dollars. In any company a net cost of $ 5 doesn't stay that way. It gets multiplied up to retail.

Deliberate ploy, don't think so. But, since we both don't have any proof..........

I thought it was for space reasons? Isnt the iphone camera module much thicker than the ipad and ipod ones?

 

[marksman]

Android Phone Specs are out pacing the Iphone. An 8 Megapixel camera, bigger screen and more memory will keep me buying. IOS 5 with the rumored adobe flash would be great too.

Bigger screen is not an improved spec.

 

[kntgsp]

Bigger screen is not an improved spec.

If it's done within the same unit dimensions or slightly (a few millimeters) larger, then yes it is an improved spec.

In 2011, a 3.5" screen is somewhat of a drawback for high end devices that are expected to do everything. Power draw on screens and chips is reduced, the technology exists to keep thin form factors and battery life while scaling up to 3.7 and 4" screens. Just swapping between a Nexus One's 3.7" and Nexus S' 4.0" makes a noticeable difference. Scaling 960x640 up to 4" isn't going to ruin the "zomg retina" that every apple fanatic screams about. It'll still put it ahead of all the competition's 800x480 4" screens.

When the interface on a device is handled solely through touch input on the screen itself, 4" screens have a significant advantage over 3.5" screens. After using a Nexus S, Galaxy S, HTC HD2, etc. I think the sweet spot is 4". 4.3" and the unit dimensions start getting too big. But 4" provides just enough extra screen real estate to make typing more comfortable and information display easier to read. Not to mention with Apple pushing gaming on its IOS devices, onscreen joysticks would be made quite a bit easier with a little added space.

And the point is that the current Iphone dimensions don't need to change to accommodate a larger screen. Just lessen the bezel width and you can put a larger screen in the current sized handset without issue. Or scale the dimensions up a few millimeters. Either way it's win-win.

 

[darkplanets]

And yet again, people are falling for the MP myth.

Let's see the quality of these photos and video, then we'll talk.

 

[Rocketman]

Question:

Stringer's discussion of camera production for Apple was confirmed by The Wall Street Journal:

Early on, he raised the irony of Sony supplying camera components for Apple devices. It "always puzzles me," he said. "Why would I make Apple the best camera?"

Answer:

Because you want to sell 20 million units with no marketing risk, minimal inventory cost, large prepayments from the customer, and unusual engineering support from the customer.

That's why.

One order covers your R&D and production ramp costs across all your other products, profitably.

Rocketman

 

[VenusianSky]

More megapixels can mean equal or better quality at a larger resolution or worse quality at a larger resolution. It all depends on how they cram in the extra pixels. If they cram them into the same size sensor as a 5MP, then it would result in lower quality, but larger pictures. If they increase the sensor size, which would require a longer focal length, then you would have equal or better quality at a larger resolution. The problem with increasing the focal point is the iPhone's thin design. They would have to move sensor further away from the lens in order for it to focus properly. I believe Apple did go with a larger sensor in the iPhone 4.

 

[dlewis23]

What's your point? That competitors will now also use 8MP sensors? Well, they already have been using them for quite a while. Apple is simply doing a catch up here. By the time iPhone gets 8MP, other phones will have 10MP or more.

The iPhones 5 MP camera is better then the competitors 8 MP cameras. If they are on the same quality level with a new 8 MP camera it will be better then the competitors 12 MP camera.

Megapixel numbers are not as important as most people think.

 

[pmz]

3D BABY!

HTC & LG, not to mention Nintendo...It's time Apple! No blu-ray, so Apple will be 3D Gods!

HTC and LG have the factory space to try and compete, so they do.

Nintendo makes products for 6 year old girls.

Apple is not interested in what is today known as "3D" which is just two out of focus images hurting your eyes.

 

[pmz]

More megapixels can mean equal or better quality at a larger resolution or worse quality at a larger resolution. It all depends on how they cram in the extra pixels. If they cram them into the same size sensor as a 5MP, then it would result in lower quality, but larger pictures. If they increase the sensor size, which would require a longer focal length, then you would have equal or better quality at a larger resolution. The problem with increasing the focal point is the iPhone's thin design. They would have to move sensor further away from the lens in order for it to focus properly. I believe Apple did go with a larger sensor in the iPhone 4.

Which they worked on for nearly two years. And in the iPhone 5, will be even larger sensors, that have been worked on, for the last year and half.

 

[bocomo]

The iPhones 5 MP camera is better then the competitors 8 MP cameras. If they are on the same quality level with a new 8 MP camera it will be better then the competitors 12 MP camera.

Megapixel numbers are not as important as most people think.

this

 

[Full of Win]

I believe Apple did go with a larger sensor in the iPhone 4.

They kept the same pixel size as from before, but made the sensor larger to increase the number of pixels. It's also uses backlit illumination, per Steve Jobs.

 

[Thunderhawks]

The iPhones 5 MP camera is better then the competitors 8 MP cameras. If they are on the same quality level with a new 8 MP camera it will be better then the competitors 12 MP camera.

Megapixel numbers are not as important as most people think.

People who are only in love with specs don't want to give the ipad its due.

The device works, because it is optimized for itself, i.e. hardware and software specs are integrated really really well.
It has a great price point and stressing over camera quality is ridiculous, as it is not a camera! Will it be better, yes in the next generation when availability and prices of 8 MP or more fit into what Apple wants to pay for it.

People also don't want to recognize that an ipad is not a laptop. We are IMO about 50% there, but until reliable voice recognition technology replaces a real keyboard, we have to wait.

I always have to laugh when I read about the next ipad killer.

The last ipad killer was actually the ipad2, and that with such a weakly underpowered camera in it.

 

[cmaier]

They kept the same pixel size as from before, but made the sensor larger to increase the number of pixels. It's also uses backlit illumination, per Steve Jobs.

BackSIDE illumination.

 

[Thunderhawks]

HTC and LG have the factory space to try and compete, so they do.

Nintendo makes products for 6 year old girls.

Apple is not interested in what is today known as "3D" which is just two out of focus images hurting your eyes.

Thank you for mentioning the "3D" issue.

It gives people head aches and I feel really ripped off at the movie theaters, when they charge for these glasses, that you theoretically could keep and use again and again etc.

But...........we know why they $ell them.

 

[centauratlas]

If it happens to be the only device you have with you at the time, an iPhone 4 grade camera would be nice on the iPad 2. It's pretty obvious. Apple probably just couldn't find one that fit in the size (thickness) factor needed.

No one WANTS to take pictures with anything but the best camera available on the market, they WANT a 15MP top of the line camera with a huge lens, mega optical zoom, 3D, many frames per second etc, but those are extremely expensive, inconvenient, and you often don't have anything close with you. Most of the time I use the iPhone it happens to be what I have with me at the time - not the 3D camera or the much higher MP camera.

And the iPhone 4 camera is quite good and good enough in many cases to snap that cool picture when you have the opportunity.

Because no one wants to take pictures with the iPad. I want to list all the situations where the iPhone would be much more accessible and easier to take pictures with...but that would be a huge waste of my time. It's pretty obvious.

This made me chuckle. Nice dude.

 

[fertilized-egg]

"Why would I make Apple the best camera?"

Because you want to sell 20 million units with no marketing risk, minimal inventory cost, large prepayments from the customer, and unusual engineering support from the customer.

yeah I don't understand what is so ironic about that when for years Sony has been supplying camera sensors to all the competitors including Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc (I am talking about the whole camera sector not just DSLR) and Sony buys their components from competitors such as Samsung.

 

[iScott428]

I would agree that just because a device has a high MP camera does not mean it will necessarily be a better camera than one of less MP. A great example would be Apples new A5 1Ghz duel core processor and how it dominates the Motorola Xooms 1Ghz duel core processor.

Iphone 4Gs keeps sounding better and better by the rumor. I can not wait to see it released and the new iOS!

 

[shartypants]

The higher resolution is great, but hope it doesn't slow down the time it takes to save the picture too much.

 

[iScott428]

People who are only in love with specs don't want to give the ipad its due.

The device works, because it is optimized for itself, i.e. hardware and software specs are integrated really really well.
It has a great price point and stressing over camera quality is ridiculous, as it is not a camera! Will it be better, yes in the next generation when availability and prices of 8 MP or more fit into what Apple wants to pay for it.

People also don't want to recognize that an ipad is not a laptop. We are IMO about 50% there, but until reliable voice recognition technology replaces a real keyboard, we have to wait.

I always have to laugh when I read about the next ipad killer.

The last ipad killer was actually the ipad2, and that with such a weakly underpowered camera in it.

So very well said, and what a great last line!

On another note its not like people are not buying up the stock of original iPads...I can not wait to see Apples quarterly earnings!

 

[LouieSamman]

Yes more megapixel isn't everything and Apple proved it with their 5MP camera compared to those 8MP camera on other phones.

BUT don't forget that Apple will not just upgrade to 8MP but the lens also!

With a better lens and more MP the iPhone 5 camera quality will really shine!

 

[kiljoy616]

Adobe flash... HA!

The wizards at Apple can't even make a mobile device that will run that load of crap. I hope that crap-ware never makes it into any IOS based products.

Considering it runs like crap on Android from what I have read there is no way as long as steve is around that will go in an iOS.

http://gigaom.com/video/video-flash-on-android-is-startlingly-bad/

Use Skyfire if you really need it I sure don't miss Flash.