Apple is swapping out the camera on its MacBook Pro for one on a new model from a different supplier, or so a respected leaker believes, and this could help drive down the laptop's price.
That’s analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the most reliable sources for Apple-related speculation, who took to Medium to inform us that the MacBook maker is going to use Sunny Optical’s compact camera module in the M5 MacBook Pro (which is expected to debut in 2025, to follow the M4 model that’s scheduled to arrive later this year).
MacRumors spotted the post and reminds us that MacBook webcams are currently supplied by LG InnoTek and Sharp.
We can expect Sunny Optical to supply both the camera module and lenses in a single package, and if all goes well with the new (rumored) partnership, Apple could turn to the Chinese firm for iPhone and iPad cameras in the future.
Sprinkle your usual seasoning all over at this point and remember that this is just a rumor, for now.
Analysis: The quest for ever thinner laptops
Why is a new webcam so interesting? Well, if it happens, it would probably mean a thinner camera for the MacBook Pro (and probably a higher-quality model, too, and any component upgrade is always good, even a smaller one).
A thinner camera module could be part of Apple's grand plan to make “thin” (see the latest iPad) a reality for the MacBook, as the MacBook Pro is rumored to be thinner in future incarnations.
While the M4 MacBook Pro reportedly coming later this year has very few design changes, according to rumors (or, indeed, the lack thereof), the successor in 2025 – which should feature the M5 chip as noted – is expected to make more significant changes in an attempt to push it up the rankings of the best laptops out there. And getting thinner could be a key plank of any redesign, with a fancy new webcam perhaps playing a small but important role in that.
That said, the true slimming of the MacBook Pro may not happen until OLED technology comes into play (which will be a major asset in the quest for thinner laptops), and that's rumored to happen in 2026 at the earliest. Still, you never know for sure how all these rumors will pan out…
