Source: Sina Digital
Many mobile phone cameras cannot be separated from Sony's components
News from Sina Digital News on the morning of December 26. According to news from foreign media Bloomberg, Sony is operating at full capacity to produce image sensor components for mobile phone products, but even if it is overtime, it is still difficult to meet the needs of mobile phone manufacturers. Demand.
UshiTerushi Shimizu, head of Sony's semiconductor division, said that the Japanese company still had its factory started during the holiday season for the second consecutive year in an effort to keep up with demand for mobile phone camera sensors. But he also said, "From the current situation, even with so much investment in capacity expansion, it may not be enough. We have to apologize to customers."
In weekdays, it seems that the factory overtime is not a big news, but now it is the Western Christmas holiday. At this time, talking about overtime has a kind of meaning of not sticking home during Chinese New Year and still insisting on production.
Although Sony ’s own-brand mobile phones are constantly being sung by the outside world, this electronic giant ’s mobile phone camera sensors are much loved by mobile phone manufacturers. This fiscal year, Sony ’s capital expenditures more than doubled to $ 2.6 billion, and a new plant is also being built in Nagasaki in April next year to meet growing demand.
Now, it is common to have three lenses on the back of mobile phones, because mobile phone manufacturers rely on taking pictures as a selling point to promote customer upgrades is an effective means. The latest models of Samsung and Huawei both have more than 40 megapixel cameras that can capture ultra-wide-angle images and are equipped with depth sensors. Apple also joined the battle this year, launching the iPhone 11 Pro series with three cameras, and many manufacturers even launched or will soon launch 4-lens phones.
Camera function has become the biggest selling point of mobile phones
That's why Sony's image sensor sales continue to soar while the overall smartphone market growth is stagnating.
"Cameras have become the biggest selling point for smartphone brands, and everyone wants their social media pictures and videos to look good. Sony caters to this stock well," said Bloomberg analyst Masahiro Wakasugi. A wave of demand. "
Semiconductor business is now Sony's most profitable business after PlayStation consoles. After profit growth of nearly 60% in the second quarter, the company raised its operating income forecast for this unit by 38% in October, which is 200 billion yen by the end of March 2020. Sony expects revenue for its entire semiconductor division to increase by 18% to 1.04 trillion yen, of which image sensors account for 86%.
The company also invested a lot of profits into the business, and plans to invest about 700 billion yen (US $ 6.4 billion) in the three-year period ending March 2021. Most of the expenditure will be used to increase the production of image sensors, and the monthly output capacity will be increased from the current about 109,000 pieces to 138,000 pieces.
Samsung, which is also a manufacturer of mobile phone camera components (also Sony's biggest competitor), said in its recent earnings report that it is also promoting production to meet demand, which is expected to "continue for quite a long time" .
Sony said in May this year that it controls 51% of the image sensor market in terms of revenue and plans to occupy 60% of the market by fiscal 2025. Shimizu estimates that Sony's share has increased by several percentage points this year alone.
Like many important technological breakthroughs in the late 20th century, transistors to lasers, photovoltaic cells, and image sensors were all invented at Bell Labs. But Sony succeeded in commercializing so-called charge-coupled devices. Their first product was an "electronic eye" installed on ANA's large jets in 1980 to project images of landing and taking off from the cockpit. Kazuo Iwama, then the vice president, was a key player in promoting the technology that was initially promoted. After his death, a tombstone had a CCD sensor to commemorate his contribution.
After being stimulated by the dividend of mobile phone manufacturing in recent years, Sony has developed a ToF sensor that emits infrared light to create a detailed depth model. The industry generally believes that this change from 2D to 3D will bring a new wave of development to mobile phone manufacturers and create more gameplay.
Samsung and Huawei have previously released flagship phones with three-dimensional sensors, but they are currently not used much. It is said that Apple will also launch a mobile phone with 3D shooting function in 2020. But Shimizu declined to comment on specific customers, only to say that Sony is ready to meet expectations for a substantial increase in demand next year.
Post time: Jan-04-2020