iPhone 18 camera sensor rumor would be a major victory for Samsung

The iPhone 16 is just around the corner, and we keep seeing new reports about the future of the iPhone 17. However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is years ahead as he just revealed an important change that may be coming to the iPhone supply chain in 2026.

According to the leaker, the iPhone 18 could ditch Sony as Apple’s CIS supplier for Samsung. In a post on X , Kuo says the iPhone 18 will adopt a new 1/2.6-inch 48MP ultra-wide CMOS image sensor made by Samsung.

If that turns out to be accurate, it would mean Samsung would break the years-long Sony monopoly in producing camera sensors for the iPhone. At the moment, it’s unclear what benefits this change could bring, but it would be a major victory for Samsung.

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Besides that, we also know some display rumors for this upcoming iPhone, as display analyst Ross Young shared an iPhone roadmap until 2027 . Previously, he said the iPhone 17 would feature under-panel Face ID . However, this technology has been pushed for the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro.

Cupertino has been reportedly working on this technology for at least since the iPhone 15 Pro when it was revealed that OTI Lumiotics was trying to secure under-panel Face ID orders.

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With that, it’s possible that the TrueDepth sensor might not be working as expected when added below the OLED display. Still, even though Apple might not tweak the design of the iPhone 17 Pro models, Young expects the company to add a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide display to all 2025 models. This means Always-On Display is still scheduled for the regular iPhone 17 models, making it more similar to the Pro iterations.

That said, this is the new iPhone roadmap from now until 2027:

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iPhone Pro:

• 2024: Pill shape
• 2025: Pill shape
• 2026: Under panel Face ID: + hole
• 2027: Under panel face ID + under panel camera

Regular iPhone:

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• 2024: Pill shape without AOD and ProMotion
• 2025: Pill shape with AOD and ProMotion
• 2026: Pill shape with AOD and ProMotion
• 2027: Under panel Face ID + hole with AOD and ProMotion

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