Yup, it’s already time to start rumors about the next generation of the iPhone. The first of such rumors appears to be coming out of an order OmniVision Technologies secured through Apple for 40-50 million 5 megapixel camera sensors. These camera sensors would be used in the next model of the iPhone, which is reportedly set to launch in the second half of 2010 after many people’s two year contracts are up. This rumor does have some legitimacy to it, though, considering OmniVision Technologies did supply Apple with the 3.2 megapixel cameras in the current iPhone 3GS.
A 5 megapixel camera would be nice to see in the iPhone. While I personally believe the war for manufacturers to use megapixels as a popular marketing technique for cameras is bunk—seeing as how anything over 5 or so is plenty—the current size of 3.2 is a little low. Furthermore, increased competition from Google and Android phones means that Apple will have to come out with something quite a bit better than what’s available in the current models. Although Apple still holds the majority of the market share in comparison to its major competitors, that will only stick with further innovation.
Via [MacRumors]
A flash and a more sensitive sensor even at 3MP would do more to improve iPhone photography than simply bumping up the megapixels ( a meaningless number given that monitors are limited to 2MP of resolution anyway).
From Ars Technica: “As many readers may know, packing more megapixels onto the same sized sensor generally results in smaller, less-sensitive pixels.” ~ http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/12/apple-may-bump-camera-in-next-gen-iphone-to-5-megapixels.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss