Apple cancels contract for advanced iPhone camera sensor; would have been worth millions for British tech firm Nanoco

Emily Nicolle for City A.M.:

Apple’s about-face on an iPhone camera project caused UK tech firm Nanoco to lose three quarters of its value, as the California giant cancelled a contract worth £17.1m.
Nanoco told investors on Friday a major “US customer” had not renewed a contract with the firm, leading shares to fall 74 per cent in its worst one-day performance since it listed in 2009.
Nanoco’s quantum-dot technology, if used in iPhones, could have boosted the smartphone’s camera performance.
A spokesperson for Nanoco refused to comment on the identity of the customer. Analysts from Deutsche Bank, Edison and Bluefin Research all pointed to Apple as being behind the loss, the Telegraph first reported.

MacDailyNews Take: If the client was in fact Apple, this gives us some clues as to what Apple was, and may still be, exploring for iPhone. Namely, working to eliminate the use of heavy metals wherever possible:
Here’s what Nanoco Technologies does: