Edible Apple

DigiTimes is reporting that both Omnivision and Sony will supply 8 megapixel image sensors for the next-gen iPhone. The report notes that Omnivision will be tasked with filling approximately 90% of Apple’s orders while Sony will pick up the slack on the remaining 10%.

OmniVision has grabbed a majority of total CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders placed by Apple for the fifth-generation iPhone, market sources have claimed. Meanwhile, power amplifier (PA) supplier Avago Technologies has landed orders for the WCDMA version of the device for its first time, according to the sources.

About 90% of the CIS orders for Apple’s new iPhone will be supplied by OmniVision, while Sony takes up the remainder, the sources said. The upcoming device will feature a built-in 8-megapixel camera, the sources added.

So all in all, things seem to be falling into place. A few months ago it was rumored that Sony would supply 8 megapixel cameras for the iPhone 5. And though news of this came from Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer himself, it was undeniably unusual given Apple’s past reliance on Omnivision to supply image sensors for its line of iOS devices.

As for the dual suppliers, a few weeks ago we reported that Omnivision’s 8 megapixel camera sensors were experiencing poor chip yields which may explain why Apple had to tap Sony to help out. Also, and perhaps this is wholly unrelated, but reports suggest that Omnivision’s camera problems were such that they couldn’t be rectified in time for a Summer 2012 iPhone launch. So maybe that had a little something to do with no new iPhone hardware this Summer.