According to the prolific purveyor of Apple-related rumors Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is getting ready to diversify its intake of camera sensors for iPhones. Right now Sony has a monopoly on supplying Apple with camera sensors, but that’s apparently set to change in two years’ time.
Kuo says Apple will buy sensors from Samsung for the iPhone 18 family, expected to launch in the fall of 2026. Specifically, we’re talking about a 48 MP 1/2.6″ sensor that will be used for ultrawide cameras.
Samsung has allegedly established a dedicated team to serve Apple’s needs, and it sounds like the contract may already have been signed – though note this is merely speculation on our part, as Kuo has stopped short of revealing that detail.
It’s obviously unclear what difference, if any, this switch will make to the camera quality of the iPhone 18 generation compared to their predecessors. Since this is Apple, we expect it to deliver quality at least on par with what is now coming out of Sony sensors, so there’s no reason to worry.
In other news, the iPhone 18 series will have a 48 MP ultrawide camera with a 1/2.6″ Samsung-made sensor that has definitely not been announced yet, but when Samsung eventually does make a sensor with these specs official, we’ll know it’s the one destined for the iPhones.
