In his latest analysis, Ming-Chi Kuo says Chinese Sunny Optical will be the largest supplier of wide-camera 7P lenses for the iPhone 14 series, exceeding the market consensus that Largan and Genius would have been the most important suppliers for this generation.
Sunny Optical is still pretty much a new supplier for the Cupertino company, as it started being part of the iPhone supply chain last year. Now, the firm is responsible for most of the wide-camera 7P lenses for the iPhone 14 series. Kuo explains:
The shipment allocation of Sunny Optical’s high-end wide 7P lens (used in two high-end iPhone 14 Pro) and lower-end wide 7P lens (used in two lower-end iPhone 14) was 50–60% and 55- 65%, respectively. The proportion of the supply of Largan and Genius is about the same.
The analyst says Sunny Optical has increased “significantly” its capacity so it’ll continue the price war to obtain more orders and raise utilization. In addition, for the iPhone 15 series, Sunny Optical may become the main supplier of the ToF lens in 2023.
Kuo gives a bit more context on what’s going on in the supply chain scenario for the iPhone 14 series:
The shipment allocation of Sunny Optical’s high-end wide 7P lens (used in two high-end iPhone 14 Pro) and lower-end wide 7P lens (used in two lower-end iPhone 14) was 50–60% and 55- 65%, respectively. The proportion of the supply of Largan and Genius is about the same.
Largan’s wide 7P lens ASP is 15–25% higher than that of Sunny Optical and Genius. Therefore, Sunny Optical’s market share gain has a lower negative impact on Largan’s profit.
The iPhone 14 series will have an important improvement on its cameras. For example, analysts expect a 48MP wide sensor for the first time.
While a 48MP could unlock new functionalities, it’s likely that Apple will keep shooting photos in 12MP, as you can read more about it here. The regular iPhone 14 models will stick with a 12MP sensor in all lenses.
In June, Kuo said Phone 14 will represent Apple’s most significant front-facing smartphone camera upgrade in years as well. The analyst predicts that the new camera will feature autofocus, which should result in significantly better quality for capturing photos and videos compared to the current fixed focus camera. In addition, he also expects a larger f/1.9 aperture.
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