Is Apple a Camera Company Now?

Apple is touting the iPhone 11 and one of the biggest features it is honing in on in presentations is the smartphone’s impressive camera setup.

That has led some publications, like CNBC, to state that Apple is a camera company because they are using that as the main differentiator between their products and those of competitors.

That got us to thinking: Is Apple a camera company now? What are the arguments in favor of that and against it.

CNBC’s Kif Leswing points to the relatively unchanged form factor of the iPhone 11 as opposed to the X and highlights that the major changes in the cameras between the two shows a deeper strategy on Apple’s part to make optical technology a huge focus going forward.

While interesting, it does seem to confuse a necessary update for a voluntary update. After all, if Apple didn’t update its cameras, among other things, the design wouldn’t really matter much in the heated technology race that is the smartphone wars. Camera bodies don’t always change between generations, either, because, at a point, it is a “if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it” situation.

The more interesting question is what Apple, and other smartphone makers, are going to mean in the larger scheme of optical technology. Apple may never be a dedicated camera company, but it will have a massive impact on optical technologies that much is certain. From proposed AR headsets to better cameras in the future, Apple’s interests (and Samsung’s, among others) rests in presenting a complete technological suite. Leswing quotes Gartner analyst Annette Zimmerman who says that cameras are “what consumers still care about most and where most expect innovation to happen.”

So we ask you: Is that an accurate statement? How many smartphone users do you think understand the differences between one generation of smartphone cameras to the next? Beyond that, how much does it matter in the total scheme of being a smartphone?

We’d love to know your thoughts on whether or not Apple is a camera company now, as CNBC suggests, and how it is or isn’t. You can leave them in the comments below.

Also, check out some other awesome photography news articles here on Light Stalking by clicking right here.

[CNBC]