On December 22, 2022, Patently Apple posted a report titled "LG Innotek, Apple's Largest Optics Partner, will unveil their Breakthrough Ultra-Compact Optical Zoom camera module at CES in January." On December 23, we presented a second report titled "Rumor claims that LG Innotek will invest $1.289 Billion on their new plant that will make Optical Telephoto Zoom Modules for the iPhone 15.

Today, a Korean supply chain report states that the folded zoom actuator for this year's iPhone 15 series, will be supplied by two Korean companies, LG Innotek and Jahwa Electronics that will replace Japan's Alps Alpine and Mitsumi, an existing iPhone camera actuator partner, as it is expected to have difficulty supplying actuators for Apple's folded zoom this year.

LG Innotek and Jahwa Electronics are expected to account for 70% and 30%, respectively, of OIS actuators for the iPhone 15 series folded zoom that Apple will release in the second half of the year. Apple plans to apply Folded Zoom for the first time this year to the top model of the iPhone 15 series, the Pro Max.

Folded Zoom is a telephoto camera module that bends light with a prism and transmits it to the image sensor. High-definition shooting is possible only when actuators move multiple lenses quickly and accurately.

The ball guide type actuator that Jahwa Electronics has developed with Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics in the past has strengths in folded zoom.

LG Innotek is expected to supply not only the folded zoom as the main supply this time, but also to account for more than half of the actuators for the folded zoom. It is known that the actuator is a key part in folded zoom, and that the ball guide type actuator is highly profitable.

Lastly, The Elec noted that  it is known that Apple plans to apply the new folded zoom exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max model this year and in both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models in 2024.