Apple Seeking New Vendor for Improved iPhone Ambient Light Sensor?

134012 iphone sensors
Arrow on left points to iPhone ambient light sensor (Source: ReadWriteWeb)

DigiTimes reports that Apple is in discussions with two Taiwan-based integrated circuit design firms, Integrated Memory Logic (iML) and Capella Microsystems, for sourcing of components for the company's iOS devices.

The more interesting of the two claims appears to be related Capella, which is said to have delivered new ambient light sensors to Apple for testing and verification. According to the report, Capella could be in a position to begin supplying Apple with such sensors for the iPhone by the end of the year and that the components would likely represent an improvement over existing sensors.

Capella, which ships over one million ambient-light sensors to HTC a month currently, has reportedly delivered its products to Apple for verification as the ambient-light sensors currently used by iPhone 4 have been criticized for some problems, said the sources, noting that Capella may received Apple's orders before the end of the year at the earliest.

iML is said to be in discussions to provide Apple with programmable gamma buffers for the iPad, components which help regulate the luminance of the LCD displays.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forums: iPad, iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

Monday May 5, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing. We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week. iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Said to Have Two Key Advantages

Monday May 5, 2025 6:41 am PDT by
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones. First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These Seven New Features

Tuesday May 6, 2025 8:25 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already several early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors, as of May 2025. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024,...

Top Rated Comments

cvaldes Avatar
183 months ago
the light sensor on the iphone also shuts the screen off when you put it up to your face...
No, they're different components.

The iPod touch has an ambient light sensor, no proximity sensor.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxBURT0Nxx Avatar
183 months ago
No, that's the proximity sensor.
oh, then they need to replace the prox sensor... thought they were one in the same. thanks for the info.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tigress666 Avatar
183 months ago


This problem has been around forever, too; I bet there will be at least a few people in this thread that'll go "Yeah I noticed that too."

Actually what I noticed is that the light sensor never seems to do anything. I have my iphone set to auto brightness but it just seems to stay at the same brightness.

I've always wondered if it was some bug and the auto brightness just never really turned on (like whatever brightness setting I had had over rid the light sensor). Or maybe I had to have brightness at 0 for it to work or something.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GCardoso Avatar
183 months ago
Always wondered what was that brown circle on my iPod Touch.:rolleyes:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LegendKillerUK Avatar
183 months ago
It never works when on the lockscreen. Turn on iPhone in bed, backlight kills your eyes, slide to unlock and go to home screen then it dims. Too late!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimUSCA Avatar
183 months ago
the light sensor on the iphone also shuts the screen off when you put it up to your face...


thank god for this news, the sensor on my iPhone 4 sucks... granted it has definitely been better after iOS updates, it still sucks major balls and I mute people or put them on hold all the time.

No, it isn't. That's the proximity sensor. Otherwise, the screen would never turn on in the dark.

Personally, I'm glad for this. I see it react in the daylight, but I've always thought it was very slow to do so. In the dark, I find myself being blinded by the screen for up to a couple minutes before it finally dims the screen.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)