Global smartphone CIS shipments in 2023 will be about 4.3 billion, down 3.2% annually

Although Apple will offer more upgrades to the camera modules that consumers care about most in the upcoming iPhone 15 models than in previous years, in order to create enough incentives for consumers to buy new machines, however, in the global smartphone market continues to face inflation, economic prospects are not optimistic, and the development of smart phone products is becoming mature, consumers continue to extend the replacement cycle. The growth momentum of the market is weak, and CIS shipments are expected to decline simultaneously. According to TrendForce Consulting estimates, the global smartphone CIS shipments in 2023 will be about 4.3 billion, an annual decline of 3.2%.

TrendForce Consulting said that in addition to the expected replacement of the entire model interface from Lightning to USB-type C and the dynamic island for all models, Apple is expected to have the following upgrades in terms of photo performance, which consumers care most about. First, for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 plus models, the image sensor used will use SONY's Photodiode + Pixel 2-Layer Transistor Pixel architecture to expand the dynamic range of imaging, As for the high-end Pro series, it will be equipped with LiDAR scanners provided by SONY to further increase the ability to shoot at night, while the flagship iPhone 15 Pro Max will be equipped with a Periscope Module to improve the camera's optical zoom performance.

In the past, the optical size of the sensor in smartphones was more than 1/2.5 inch, and recently more and more mobile phones use a sensor with an optical size close to 1 inch, because the larger the optical size of the sensor, the individual "Pixel unit" (Pixel) can be made larger, so that it can absorb more light and increase the signal amount.

However, in order to avoid the smartphone becoming heavy, carrying a larger CIS on the smartphone means that you need to reserve more internal space for the entire camera module, that is, you need to reduce the size and occupy space of other components (such as the battery module), otherwise the lens module may be too large and convex, and even make the phone too heavy, so when designing the CIS, Suppliers must strike a balance between the "size" and the "number" of pixel units.

However, TrendForce Consulting believes that the number and size of CIS pixels in smart phones will not continue to increase, mainly because the average user's perception of 108MP and 200MP pixels is not much different, and at the same time, the increase in the number of pixels will increase the size of the sensor, and then make the phone become larger and heavier. Does not meet the consumer's demand for lightness.

Therefore, TrendForce Consulting said that the future upgrade direction will focus on the optimization of CIS structural design (such as the double-layer transistor pixel architecture that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 plus will use), and further improve the performance of the sensor by improving the structure and material of the sensor. And optimize and upgrade the image processing algorithm, through the AI algorithm to break through the hardware limitations, further improve the clarity of the image, dynamic range, and reduce noise, improve the image quality.