'High-End' iPhone 14 Front-Facing Camera to Cost Apple Three Times More

The iPhone 14 will feature a more expensive "high-end" front-facing camera with autofocus, partly made in South Korea for the first time, ET News reports.

iPhone 13 Face ID
Apple reportedly ousted a Chinese candidate to choose LG Innotek, a South Korean company, to supply the ‌iPhone 14‌'s front-facing camera alongside Japan's Sharp. The company is said to have originally planned to switch to LG for the iPhone 15's front-facing camera, but moved the plan forward to this year.

The change is said to be down to Apple reclassifying the front-facing camera as a "high-end" component and quality concerns with Chinese suppliers. The new front-facing camera is said to cost almost three times more than camera units in previous iPhone models.

The report echoed a previous rumor from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that claimed the ‌iPhone 14‌'s front-facing camera would support autofocus for the first time. Kuo said that all four of the ‌iPhone 14‌ models, including the ‌iPhone 14‌, ‌iPhone 14‌ Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max, will feature an upgraded front-facing camera with autofocus and a wider ƒ/1.9 aperture.

A wider aperture would allow more light to pass through the lens and reach the front camera's sensor on the ‌iPhone 14‌ models, resulting in enhanced image quality. Kuo said these camera upgrades could provide a better depth-of-field effect for Portrait mode photos and videos, while autofocus can improve focus during FaceTime and Zoom video calls. By comparison, the front camera on all of the iPhone 13 models has a fixed focus and a smaller ƒ/2.2 aperture.

LG Innotek is now said to be preparing for mass production of the ‌iPhone 14‌'s front camera ahead of the device's release in September.

Related Roundups: iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

yossi Avatar
14 months ago
So $6 instead of $2, thus allowing them to charge an additional $300 for this version.
Score: 109 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dcny Avatar
14 months ago
Apple should move their production line out from China. We want better quality products from Korea, Japan or Taiwan.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
14 months ago
[HEADING=2]'High-End' iPhone 14 Front-Facing Camera to Cost iPhone users Three Times More[/HEADING]

I fixed it for you...
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwaltwhit Avatar
14 months ago

Apple should move their production line out from China. We want better quality products from Korea, Japan or Taiwan.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, but doing so would raise the prices so drastically, no one would be able to buy their hardware. I worked for a hardware company where everyone begged for "made in usa" tools, but didn't want to pay the premium.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikhsub1 Avatar
14 months ago

So $6 instead of $2, thus allowing them to charge an additional $300 for this version.
I was just gonna say something similar. On a serious note, I think I remember seeing that the front camera was around $2.50 or so in a cost break down so the new one being 3x more is no biggie.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
14 months ago
That’s fine. Willing to pay whatever the high-end iPhone will cost. As long it’s a noticeable upgrade from previous gen models.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)