The recent earthquakes which struck Japan may have affected the iPhone 7 supply chain — particularly related to the next-gen handset’s camera module.
On Saturday, a powerful earthquake hit Japan’s manufacturing Kumamoto prefecture, which is known as the country’s “Silicon Island.”
Most relevant to Apple is the fact that Sony’s main production base for image sensors is located in the area. Sony is the only supplier of CMOS sensors — one of the two types of sensor units used in digital cameras — for the iPhone. Both of Sony’s plants in the region were offline as of yesterday.
“Sony plays an important role for both CMOS sensor and camera module for the upcoming iPhone 7,” writes Morgan Stanley analyst Jasmine Lu. “By far, yield rate has been low for modules. Risks are rising for a possible delay in launch if Sony doesn’t resume normal operations in the near term.”
Apple has tried to de-risk its supply chain lately by increasing its number of suppliers for components. In the case of the CMOS sensor, however, Sony is the only provider.
With that said, since the company has yet to reveal which — if any — of its production equipment is damaged, Morgan Stanley is being forward in suggesting the iPhone 7 risks being delayed.
This isn’t the first time earthquakes have affected iPhone 7 production. Back in February, A10 chipmaker TSMC had one of its factories in southern Taiwan damaged after a quake.
Via: Barrons
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
One response to “iPhone 7 camera module maker hit by Japan earthquake”
Aren’t there supply chain issues with every iPhone release? Somehow, Apple always seems to be able to get more out just in the nick of time; I’m not convinced that this isn’t just another one of Apple’s marketing ploys.
Tim Cook: “Ok, the 6s didn’t sell as well as we’d hoped. How do we drive up demand before the 7 is released?”
Phil Schiller: “Tell everyone that the technology is so advanced that there will be a shortage of handsets?”
Craig Federighi: “A tsunami just damaged Sony’s sensor factory.”
Tim Cook: “Awesome!”