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

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

cvaldes Avatar
185 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
185 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
185 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
185 months ago
Always wondered what was that brown circle on my iPod Touch.:rolleyes:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LegendKillerUK Avatar
185 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
185 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)