Apple is always looking to improve its hardware while maintaining a huge profit margin and is now reportedly looking at changing the company that supplies the ambient light sensor for iOS devices as well as bringing in a new supplier for its programmable gamma buffers.
According to a report by DigiTimes, Apple is currently in talks with both Integrated Memory Logic (iML) for programmable gamma buffers and Capella Microsystems over using their ambient light sensors after the one currently used in the iPhone 4 came in for some criticism. It"s also claimed that Capella has even gotten so far as to send samples to Apple for testing and verification purposes. The company already provides millions of sensors to HTC, shipping over one million units to the smartphone manufacturer each month.
Capella, which ships over one million ambient-light sensors to HTC a month currently, has reportedly delivered its products to Apple for verification as the ambient-light sensors currently used by iPhone 4 have been criticized for some problems, said the sources, noting that Capella may received Apple"s orders before the end of the year at the earliest.
The programmable gamma buffers from iML are parts for regulating the luminance of LCD displays, with possible uses being for all iOS devices - iPod touches, iPhones and iPads.