Apple has apparently started to cut down on the orders of Philips-sourced LED flash components, called Lumileds according to Apple tech website, Apple Insider.
A person familiar with Apple's supply's chain has told the site that Apple has greatly reduced orders for the Philips LED flash components over the past 30 to 60 days.
The source added that this may be due to the fact that Apple will not use the component in the forthcoming iPhone 5, while other leads point to a new supplier, possibly based in Taipei, that may instead be adopted.
While the camera and the flash modules on the iPhone 4 are part of the same component, it appears that Apple will separate both for the fifth generation iPhone 5 in order to improve the quality of pictures and reduce the dreaded red-eye effect.
Other reports have pointed out that Apple is going to use an eight-megapixel camera for the iPhone, a jump in pixel count that will allow it to close the gap on certain rivals like the Nokia N8 and some future Android-based smartphones that will even have 12-megapixel or higher camera resolution.
Taiwanese manufacturer Omnivision is rumoured to be the big winner in the allocation of OEM/ODM contracts, being set to acquire 90 per cent of orders.
