Apple's iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max could benefit from a camera upgrade when they roll around in late 2023, according to a new report.

While the iPhone 15 Pro Max is already expected to get an iPhone-first in the shape of a periscope camera, a new report also adds fuel to existing rumours that an upgraded LiDAR Scanner is in the offing as well. If so, Apple could reap the benefits of improved power management. However, the change isn't expected to happen on the standard iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus.

Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley, writing in a research note seen by MacRumors, believe that Apple is getting ready to use Sony as the main, if not the only supplier of LiDAR Scanner components for the high-end 2023 iPhones.

"Sony could take a majority, if not all, of the share on the world facing sensor in this years' models with the company providing a module, VCSEL, receiver, and driver," the analysts say. "This is a negative headwind to both LITE and COHR which we view as likely."

This backs up a previous claim by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who had also pointed to Sony as a potential winner from Apple's upgrade plans. Kuo had also said that the Sony components are more power efficient than those provided by other companies, allowing for improved performance or longer battery life depending on how Apple chooses to play things.

The LiDAR Scanner is used in a number of ways including augmented reality and photography apps. It's a sensor that scans the 3D world around it and provides that information to the iPhone for use in apps. That can be helpful when building the world in augmented reality, while camera apps can gather depth data to help create better portrait photo effects.

Apple is expected to ship the new iPhone 15 lineup in or around September, with other changes including a USB-C port on all four models.