Samsung is among the world's top mobile camera sensor makers. It makes ISOCELL-branded camera sensors for smartphones and competes with Sony in the segment. According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics, Sony, Samsung, and OmniVision ranked first, second, and third, respectively, in H1 2020.
During the first half of 2020, the South Korean firm's revenue share in the mobile camera sensor market was 32%, while Sony's revenue share was a whopping 44%. Chinese image sensor firm OmniVision's revenue share was 9%. Thanks to the rising demand for multi-camera smartphones, the mobile camera sensor market grew 15% year-on-year revenue growth to reach $6.3 billion.
Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategic Technologies Practice at Strategy Analytics, said, “The image sensor market growth was slowed by the impact of the pandemic on the overall smartphone market. However, the momentum around high pixel sensors and the use of multiple cameras in smartphones is expected to shape a strong growth path for the image sensor market in the second half of 2020.”
Samsung started releasing ultra-high resolution sensors a couple of years ago. After launching 48MP and 64MP camera sensors in 2019, the company launched sensors with even higher pixel count. The ISOCELL HM1 and the ISOCELL HMX feature 108MP sensors that have been used in smartphones from various brands, including Samsung and Xiaomi.
Earlier this year, Samsung also released the ISOCELL GN1 sensor with 50MP resolution and dual-pixel autofocus. It looks like a sweet spot where OEMs don't have to sacrifice pixel count, pixel size, or autofocus reliability. The company has plans to release 150MP, 250MP, and even 600MP sensors for smartphones and the automotive industry.
