DigiTimes: 2020 iPhones to switch from optical image stabilization to sensor stabilization

Apple breaks down the specs of the three rear cameras in iPhone 11 Pro

According to a report published Friday by hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, some of the iPhone models that Apple plans on introducing in 2020 will drop optical image stabilization (OIS) and replace it with more robust sensor stabilization technology.

The story quotes unnamed industry sources as claiming that some models of the 5G iPhone lineup due next year reportedly “will come with sensor-shift stabilization technology”.

That likely means the flagship 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones coming in 2020 may use sensor-shift stabilization technology, but the jury is still out as to whether or not it’d mark an improvement over the current optical image stabilization approach.

With optical image stabilization, the record footage or image is stabilized by using magnets that move one or more lenses in all three directions within the smartphone case in response to movement, thereby stabilizing the image that gets projected on the sensor.

As the name reveals, sensor-shifting turns the concept of optical image stabilization upside down by moving the image sensor itself rather than just the lens. One major advantage of sensor stabilization is the fact that it could support external lenses that you add to iPhones, like attachments from OlloClip.

Another benefit to sensor-shifting: very-high resolution imaging realized by taking multiple exposures with the sensor shifted a pixel or half a pixel between exposures.

Most — if not all — stabilization techniques result in cropped photos and videos.

The latest iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models feature optical image stabilization on the telephoto lens and the wide angle lens. However, the ultra-wide lens lacks optical stabilization.