Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is out with a new look at Apple’s upcoming iPhone camera plans, including an under-the-hood ultra-wide module change and a surprisingly steep cost increase. Here are the details.
It has been widely reported that later this year, one of the biggest changes to the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera system will be the debut of a variable-aperture Main camera, in contrast to the current fixed-aperture design.
However, that might come at a steep cost. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new variable aperture lens will carry a 50% higher average selling price than Apple’s current high-end 7P lens system.
He says that Apple will source 40-50% of these components from Sunny Optical, which has also been supplying the MacBook Neo’s compact camera module (CCM), with Largan remaining the company’s main supplier.
This alone shouldn’t mean that Apple will increase the price of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but the component cost increase couldn’t come at a worse time, as Apple is already dealing with rising memory costs that are putting pressure on its margins.
Beyond the iPhone 18 Pro, Kuo also shared an interesting tidbit about the camera modules expected for 2028 iPhones.
According to the analyst, the “2028 iPhone’s ultra-wide CCM is expected to drop flip-chip in favor of an improved COB version.”
In other words, Apple is planning to move away from the current flip-chip packaging method, where the image sensor is mounted face-down and connected to the module substrate through tiny solder bumps, adopting an improved chip-on-board design for the ultra-wide camera module instead.
Kuo doesn’t explain what improvements to the chip-on-board design made Apple decide to move away from flip-chip packaging, mentioning only that Sunny Optical is also ”well positioned to become a supplier.”
You can read Kuo’s full post here, which also includes details on Sunny Optical’s work around optical components for a rumored OpenAI “smartphone and another pocket / mobile device.”
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