Upscale Phone Camera Features Fueling Image Sensor Demand: SA

The global smartphone CMOS image sensor (CIS) market had $15 billion in 2020 revenue, growing 13% year on year, said Strategy Analytics Tuesday. Smartphone OEMs “aggressively adopted high-resolution sensors and higher sensor count across smartphone tiers in 2020," creating strong demand, said analyst Jeffrey Mathews. The expansion of multiple cameras and advanced photography capabilities in smartphones will fuel more demand that could be challenged by semiconductor shortages, said analyst Stephen Entwistle. Sony led with 46% share, followed by Samsung System LSI and OmniVision. The three chip vendors had about 85% of the market, but Sony’s market dominance will be threatened by increasing competition in the segment, said Mathews.