We recently learned that Sony cannot continue to supply CMOS image sensors to Chinese technology giant Huawei.
The reason is the sanctions imposed by the United States on Huawei, which prohibit the use of US technology and components in their devices. In addition, it restricts US-based companies from doing business with Huawei in the same way.
This is a big financial setback for Sony, and Samsung is taking the situation as an opportunity to lead the sensor market.
In recent years, demand for multi-camera smartphones has increased, leading to an increase in demand for CMOS image sensors.
The result was a boom in Sony’s image sensor business in the last years.
Huawei has long been one of Sony’s biggest image sensor customers. Almost all Huawei devices are equipped with Sony’s state-of-the-art image sensors, especially the flagship Mate and P series smartphones.
However, Sony’s market share has declined from last year.
After losing a large number of Huawei image sensor orders, Sony’s CMOS image sensor market sales began to decline.
Samsung’s global market share for image sensors is 20% smaller than Sony’s. But Samsung’s sensor market appears to be more stable than Sony’s because most of Samsung’s products use self-made image sensors.
On the other hand, Samsung is planning to use its 13th DRAM wafer factory in Hwaseong-si to produce CMOS image sensors.. This year, Samsung’s monthly wafer production capacity for image sensors could increase by between 20,000 and 30,000 pieces, which will also help Samsung to continue to increase its share of the sensor market.
To deal with this situation, Sony is rebuilding its semiconductor business strategy and trying to enter the automotive sensor business to overcome losses and avoid the impact of Huawei’s sharp drop in image sensor orders.
