14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone X hasn’t even reached the market, and there’s already buzz on the 2018 model, with some sources pointing to a major camera upgrade that Apple is already working on.
Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says despite all the rumors, Apple won’t give up on the all-plastic lens module currently available on the iPhone X, basically putting an end to speculation that Cupertino is planning a seven-lens plastic lens stack (also known as 7P) or a two glass, three plastic lens (2G3P) camera design for the 2018 generation.
Kuo explains that there are two main reasons why he expects Apple not to abandon the 6P lens design that the company has embraced for the iPhone X.
Apple has no reason to abandon 6P
First and foremost, the mix of quality and form factor design is “phenomenal,” he said in a note to investors, and Apple can’t risk going for a new technology at a time when it has only introduced this new product.
Then, a new camera module design would require time for development and testing, and if there’s something that Apple wants to avoid for the 2018 iPhone, it’s the limited supply that was caused by the complex nature of some iPhone X components, like the TrueDepth cameras.
“With its rear camera specs, iPhone X has managed to strike a phenomenal balance between picture quality and form factor design, in our opinion, given how far we've come today technologically,” Kuo says.
“Switching from a 6P lens to a 7P lens or a 2G3P hybrid lens, with camera module design largely similar to iPhone X's, would make for only limited improvements in aperture performance, we believe.”
While it’s indeed a bit too early to discuss the camera modules coming to the 2018 iPhone generation, it’s worth noting that Kuo has been incredibly accurate so far, being one of the few analysts who correctly predicted this year’s model features and Apple’s big bet on facial recognition.