It was an open secret. If Apple does not communicate, or rarely, about its partners in the mobile industry, each dismantling of the new iPhones allows you to scrape information on the components used. But for the first time, it was Tim Cook himself who spoke about the camera models used in Apple mobiles. As part of a supplier tour in Japan, the CEO tweeted that Apple has been using Sony image sensors in its iPhones for a decade.
“We’ve partnered with Sony for over a decade to create the world’s best camera sensors for iPhone.explained the boss of Apple. Thanks to Ken and everyone on the team for showing me around the state-of-the-art Kumamoto facility today.”. The tweet is accompanied by a photograph showing Tim Cook examining photo sensors in the presence of Sony engineers, in what looks like a technical testing laboratory.
The highly regarded Kumamoto plant is one of the world’s most advanced in the design and production of image sensors. On April 14, 2016, a major earthquake hit the Kumamoto area, damaging the factory and shutting down production for almost a month. At the time, Sony released a video to show the stages of rebuilding the factory.