Samsung has narrowed the CMOS Image Sensor(CIS) market share gap with Sony by a few points in 2020. According to a recent report from Yole Development, Samsung is gaining momentum in the CMOS Image Sensor market.
Meanwhile, Sony ended 2020 with a 40% market share in the CIS market, 2% lower than 2019 but it still is at the top of the mountain. Samsung witnessed an increase of 1% in its market share from 21% in 2019. In 2020, Samsung held a 22% market share in the CIS industry.
The Yole Development report also shows that Samsung had a 13% YoY in sales, whereas Sony did not witness any significant loss or gain in the CIS sales. Samsung began manufacturing image sensors back in 2002 with less than 20% market share until 2018.
Omnivision secured the third spot with a 12% market share. To note, Omnivision previously ranked above Samsung till 2014, Yole Research suggests that Samsung’s expertise in designing and manufacturing CIS helped to expand its reach and significantly increased sales and market share to become the second-largest CMOS maker.
Meanwhile, Sony posted revenue of 1.01 trillion Yen in 2020, a 5% loss from 2019. The research firm indicates that the loss was due to Huawei halting its smartphone business due to US sanctions against it.
However, Sony confirmed a sales increase in CIS for digital cameras in a recent conference call, but CIS sales for smartphones are dropping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Japanese electronics maker is planning to increase its production volume. In April, the company began operating its new plant in Nagasaki, and now Sony is planning to build an additional plant exclusively to manufacture smartphone CMOS Image Sensors.
They are aiming for a 60% market share by 2025, Samsung on the other hand is preparing to expand into the automotive sector with its ISOCELL Auto 4AC Image Sensor.
As per the Yole Development report, the CIS industry posted a collective worth of $20.7 billion, with smartphones and consumer products accounting for 72% of the total market worth.
According to the forecast from the research firm, the CIS market is expected to be worth $31.5 billion by the end of 2026.
Source: Yole Development Report
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