Sony 8mp image sensors for iPhone 5 delayed?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

9to5Mac's Seth Weintraub was watching the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg interview Sony CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, when stringer let slip that cameras meant for Apple iPhone and iPad would be delayed to due the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Paraphrased: “Our best senor technology is built in one of the (tsunami) affected factories.  Those go to Apple for their iPhones…or iPads.  Isn’t that something?  They buy our best sensors from us?”

Sony doesn't currently supply iPhone or iPad optics but had been rumored to be supplying iPhone 5 with 8 megapixel sensors. Rumors spread last week of a possible "delay" in iPhone 5 release from the usual summer schedule to a Fall, or possibly later date. If the "delay" (unannounced products can't be delayed, but internal schedules can be pushed out and historic cycles can be broken) is real, and the Sony image sensor is accurate, could this and potentially other component related problems be part of the reason?

[9to5Mac]

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.