9.8% CAGR 2020-26 for camera modules

Update: December 12, 2023

The global camera module revenue should reach $59 billion in 2026 from $34 billion in 2020, says Yole Développement, with a 9.8% CAGR between 2020 and 2026.

The mobile CCM (Compact Camera Module) market segment is showing a 9.8% CAGR, against 14% for the automotive CCM market segment, which is becoming a significant sub-market.

The consumer market segment for CCM is far ahead with a 16% CAGR2020-2026. In 2026, the CCM revenue should be shared between actuator (11%), lens set (about 14%), camera module assembly (32%), and CMOS Image sensor (about 43%).

CIS, the most critical component in the CCM module, is still shrinking the pixel size and increasing the resolution.

Optic lens sets have introduced innovations such as using glass or free-form lenses or even liquid lenses, while OIS technology has moved from lens-shift to sensor-shift.

All the latest innovations help mobile cameras to move toward professional looking photography.

From sub-components to manufacturing, there are numerous players in the CCM ecosystem. Leading CCM players continue to vertically integrate upstream resources or expand their business.

LG Innotek occupies the 1st place in the CCM manufacturer rankings: the company grew rapidly in 2020 with large orders. Not far behind, Yole sees: Sunny Optical, O-Film, and Foxconn.

The multiple cameras approach in mobile not only increases photography functions (such as macro, telephoto etc.) but also greatly improves the photographic effects.

As a result, the multi-camera setups are observed in most smartphones, resulting in an increase in the number of mobile CCMs from 4.9 billion to 5.4 billion units from 2019 to 2020, a YoY growth of 10.4%.

From imaging to sensing, a 3D camera can be added in the front or rear (the front also includes optical fingerprint recognition), it positively affects the development direction of the many camera approach in mobile phones.

In the consumer sector, products are becoming more intelligent – connected to everything – allowing vision to play a more significant role in applications such as robots and home surveillance systems.

These will also increase the need for more camera modules. From CCM sub-components to CCM manufacturing, there are numerous players in this industry. These include the upstream CMOS image sensor players, lens suppliers, and the CCM manufacturers themself, where the leading companies dominate the market.

“The image sensor is the most critical component in the module”,_says Yole’s Richard Liu. “Sony is the market leader in the industry’s supply chain, leading the market to increasing average pixel numbers and diminishing pixel sizes. Samsung, the number two CIS player, has done an excellent job in this area, taking the lead in launching products with a small pixel size(0.64um) and high resolution(200Mp)”. In the No. 3 position, OmniVision is deeply engaged in the Chinese market, expanding it with its advantage of being a Chinese enterprise. As a result, it delivered excellent profits in 2020.

When it comes to flagship imaging modules, camera designers for the leading mobile OEMs continue to stick with CIS from Samsung, Sony and OmniVision”.