One of the bullet points in Apple’s announcement of its increased US manufacturing spend made a big, but very non-specific, claim. Apple said that it was working with Samsung on an “innovative new technology which has never been used before anywhere in the world.”
Although the company was being mysterious, we likely know what that means – and it’s great news not just for the iPhone 18, but also for future iPhones beyond it …
The full statement – all two sentences of it – was as vague as it was bold:
Apple is also working with Samsung at its fab in Austin, Texas, to launch an innovative new technology for making chips, which has never been used before anywhere in the world. By bringing this technology to the U.S. first, this facility will supply chips that optimize power and performance of Apple products, including iPhone devices shipped all over the world.
A new camera sensor for the iPhone 18
While Apple didn’t reveal anything more, analysts seem fairly confident that this refers to image sensors for iPhone 18 cameras.
Industry analysts say the chips in question are likely image sensors for next-generation iPhones. “Mass production of image sensors for the iPhone 18 next year […] is expected to reduce losses in Samsung’s semiconductor division,” wrote Kiwoom Securities analyst Park Yu-ak.
Specifically, there have been multiple reports that Samsung is working on a triple-layer stacked image sensor for the iPhone 18.
A stacked sensor is where the processing electronics are mounted to the back of the sensor in order to handle light capture and image processing on separate layers of the same chip. This results in a faster response time as well as higher image quality.
Current sensors use dual-layer stacking, but the next stage in this evolution is triple layer sensors, as seen in the above slide from a Sony presentation.
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