Apple is due to release the next iteration of its popular iPhone in September. Provided the iPhone maker sticks to its established release schedule – and there’s no indication it won’t – this is the only piece of information about the next iPhone we can be sure of. The features and name of the next iPhone have been the subject of much speculation over the past eight months. Will it be called the iPhone 7, or will it be the smaller 4-inch iPhone 6c? Or will Apple release two new iPhones? – the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus perhaps?

Apple orders camera sensors

According to GSM Dome, (via BGR) Apple has placed a substantial order for camera sensors with Sony, Corp. for the iPhone 6c. The news came from two Chinese analysts said to have knowledge of Sony’s supply chain. They did not detail what camera sensors Apple had ordered.

The analysts said that, as a result of Apple’s large order for camera sensors, Sony is only able to meet 50 percent of the demand from Chinese smartphone vendors.

The report notes that Chinese Android-based smartphone makers, including Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., ZTE Corp., OPPO Electronics Corp. and Coolpad Group Limited, are now resorting to placing orders for camera sensors from Sony’s competitors, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and OmniVision Technologies, Inc. to bolster their supply.

The report further infers that Sony’s failure to meet the demand for its camera sensors may have led to HTC Corp.’s decision to use Toshiba camera sensors for the HTC One M8.

The veracity of this information is unknown, and it may prove to be inaccurate.

Late last month we reported on several rumors regarding the next generation iPhone. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming plans, said in a note to investors that Apple intends to stick to two sizes for its next iPhone: the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes made popular by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Kuo also said that Apple had no plans to release a new 4-inch iPhone.

Photo credit: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr