Apple Reportedly Ditched iPhone 11 Camera Upgrade

Apple reportedly ditched a next-gen camera upgrade for this year’s iPhone models.

This year’s iPhone models are believed to feature upgraded camera setups, starting from the successor to the lower-priced iPhone XR to the successor of the high-end iPhone XS Max. One certain camera upgrade that was supposed to arrive this year, however, was ditched by the Cupertino-based tech giant, reports say.

High-end Upgrade

According to a report from The Telegraph, a certain U.K.-based company named Nanoco had a contract with a “customer” -- a huge, unnamed U.S.-based corporation. This “customer,” which The Telegraph believed to be Apple, was said to fund Nanoco’s production facilities in Cheshire.

Nanoco is known for its work on “quantum dot” technology, which is used in advanced TV screens, monitors and mobile displays, according to Tom’s Guide. Apple is believed to be looking into using the technology on its Apple Watch displays in order to give the wearable a better display with enhanced purity and accuracy of color.

More than using it for enhanced display quality, Apple is also looking to use quantum dot technology to give its iPhones better camera performance. Quantum dot tech allows for more precise control of light, which results in better quality camera sensors compared to the ones used in smartphones today.

The Telegraph noted that quantom dot technology was meant to give the image sensors on upcoming iPhones the ability to take better quality photos, as well as give the iPhones improved augmented reality capabilities which will be perfect for ARKit 3.

Scrapped

Although the idea of having a quantum dot camera on the iPhone sounds great, it might take a few more years before that could happen as Nanoco, in an announcement last Friday, said its “customer” has decided to scrap a project for which it was a supplier. This customer is believed to be Apple, and the project is understood as the quantum dot cameras for the iPhones.

A research firm found that Apple had decided to “shut down” its work on the quantum dot image sensor after discovering that it would be very expensive to manufacture in large quantities. The Cupertino tech giant, then, simply decided to work on laser-powered 3D scanners for use on the 2020 iPhones.

While the latest news means that this year’s iPhones won’t feature quantum dot technology, it doesn’t mean the 2019 iPhones will lag behind other smartphone companies in the area of mobile photography as this year’s iPhones are expected to come with enhanced camera setups.