Recent rumors have pegged Sony has the sole supplier of the image sensor that’s to be found in the next iPhone from Apple. In the last three iterations of the iPhone, Sony has provided Apple with an 8-megapixel image sensor. With the launch of the iPhone 6 (mockup pictured above), it’s believed that Sony will once again be the only vendor partner of Apple to provide a 13-megapixel image sensor.  Though not directly confirming the deal, Sony has announced that they plan on investing $345 million to boost image sensor production.

I wonder what product is around the corner that would demand such high volumes (hint, it’s the iPhone 6). Let’s talk details.

Sony has confirmed that it’s investing $345 million (35 billion yen) to increase production of image sensors for smartphones and tablets. In order to meet what Sony believes is a great volume in the coming quarter, Sony will be investing the money at two factories in Kyushu, Japan. Sony has also recently purchased a factory from Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics in order to further boost CMOS sensor productions.

According to Sony, this will:

  allow it to raise production by 13 percent to 68,000 wafers a month by August 2015, a step closer to its mid-term goal of 75,000 

For its part, Sony sees this as part of a much longer strategic plan and only plans to invest some of the money this year. Specifically, 9 billion yen will be spent this year while the remaining 26 billion yen will be spent in the first half of the fiscal year starting next March. In recent years, Sony has done well by leveraging their image sensor expertise beyond offering Sony cameras and powering devices from other manufacturers like Apple.

Discuss:

Should Sony continue to strike deals and provide technology for their competitors?

[Via Reuters]