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The iPhone 14 will have a more expensive “high-end” front-facing camera with autofocus, some of which will be manufactured in South Korea for the first time, it is now reported.
Apple has reportedly ruled out a Chinese candidate and opted for South Korean company LG Innotek, which will supply the iPhone 14's front camera alongside Japanese company Sharp. The company was said to have originally planned to switch to LG for the iPhone 15's front camera but has brought forward that plan to this year, as reported by ET News reportedThe reason for this is said to be that Apple has classified the front-facing camera as a "high-end" component and that there are quality issues with Chinese suppliers. The new front-facing camera is said to cost almost three times as much as the camera units in previous iPhone models.
iPhone 14: Apple plans to significantly improve front camera
The report echoes an earlier rumor from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claimed that the iPhone 14's front-facing camera would support autofocus for the first time. Kuo said all four iPhone 14 models, including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, will have an upgraded front-facing camera with autofocus and a larger ƒ/1.9 aperture. The larger aperture allows more light to pass through the lens to the front-facing camera sensor, resulting in better image quality. Kuo said these camera upgrades will enable a better depth-of-field effect for Portrait mode photos and videos, while autofocus can improve sharpness during FaceTime and Zoom video calls. In comparison, the front-facing camera on all iPhone 13 models has a fixed focus and a smaller ƒ/2.2 aperture. (Photo by MediaWhalestock / Bigstockphoto)
