Due to Poor Smartphone Sales... Image Sensor Market Expected to Shrink This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Due to the decline in smartphone sales caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), it is forecasted that the major system semiconductor market, including image sensors, will shrink compared to last year.

According to market research firm Omdia on the 8th, the expected market size (revenue) for CMOS image sensors this year is $15.423 billion, slightly down from $15.451 billion last year.

CMOS image sensors, a type of system semiconductor, are semiconductors that convert light entering through a camera lens into digital signals to create images, and are used in various fields such as smartphones, vehicles, security devices, and gaming consoles.

In particular, recently, multiple lenses have been installed in a single smartphone, and with the increasing electrification of vehicles, the installation of cameras has also increased, steadily expanding the related market.

However, this year, the spread of COVID-19 has significantly slowed smartphone sales, leading to a contraction in the related market.

Due to the slowdown in smartphone sales, the sales volume of mobile processor system-on-chips (SoCs), which serve as the brain of smartphones, is also expected to decrease.

Market research firm Strategy Analytics predicted that SoC sales will decrease from 1.4154 billion units last year to 1.262 billion units this year.