According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Huachuang Securities released a research report stating that CMOS image sensors are the core components of camera modules, playing a key role in light perception and image quality. Under the wave of AI, the upgrade of domestic smartphone CMOS image sensors with large sensors/main cameras/high-pixel secondary cameras has great potential, and multi-spectral CIS is expected to bring new incremental demand. The trend of increasing pixel count in automotive and security camera fields is significant, which is expected to drive both the quantity and price of CIS. Sony and Samsung may slow down their expansion in the CMOS business, while domestic manufacturers have a wide product layout and smooth introduction, which is expected to accelerate the process of domestic substitution.
<h2>The main viewpoints of Huachuang Securities are as follows:</h2>
CMOS Image Sensors: Optical core components, with overseas manufacturers occupying the main share.
CMOS image sensors are the core components of camera modules, significantly influencing the light perception and image quality of cameras. From the demand side, as the core component of cameras, smartphones are currently the main application end for CMOS, accounting for over 60% of the CMOS market size. In terms of growth rate, the demand for CMOS in automotive, security, and other fields is growing rapidly, and various downstream application areas are expected to drive the increase in both the shipment volume and value of CMOS. From the supply side, Sony and Samsung together occupy over 60% of the global CMOS market, while domestic manufacturers started relatively late. As domestic CMOS image sensor suppliers further deepen their product offerings and layouts, smartphone brands are expected to gradually shift towards domestic suppliers, which may promote the rise of domestic manufacturers.
AI Consumer Electronics: The upgrade of large sensors/main cameras/high-pixel secondary cameras has great potential, and AI glasses bring incremental demand for CIS.
The development direction of CIS is high pixel/high frame rate/high imaging quality. Early multi-camera and pixel increases have led to rapid growth in CMOS image sensors. Currently, the main camera configurations have shown some technological differentiation, with domestic Android manufacturers maintaining a stable number of cameras and main camera pixels, flagship models maintaining four cameras and a 50M main camera. The main upgrade direction of CMOS sensors lies in the increase of sensor size, which significantly contributes to imaging quality.
In contrast to the imaging paths of domestic Android manufacturers, Samsung focuses on the ultra-high pixel route, with ISOCELL technology achieving 200 million ultra-high pixels. Regarding the upgrade trend of secondary camera configurations, video quality is highly related to the performance of image sensors, and real-time shooting demands require better secondary camera performance. The Huawei Mate70 debuted with a multi-spectral camera, which captures environmental spectra to restore colors, potentially driving new demand for CIS.
For smartphones, a review of the imaging configurations of some flagship models from major smartphone brands has been conducted, hoping to provide some insights and references for the future upgrade direction of smartphone CMOS sensors. In addition to smartphones, the recent frequent launches of new AI glasses are also expected to bring incremental demand for CIS.
AI Smart Driving: The trend of increasing pixels is significant, with demand growth driving both quantity and price increases.
Automotive and security are currently the application fields with the fastest growth in CMOS image sensor demand. In recent years, the penetration rate of autonomous driving has rapidly increased, and cameras have become the key visual hub due to their multiple advantages. The upgrade of autonomous driving promotes the enhancement of functions and pixels, and it is expected that the future shipment volume and market size of automotive CIS will steadily increase
From the perspective of shipment volume, the upgrade of intelligent driving and in-cabin monitoring drives the demand for multiple cameras per vehicle, with the number of cameras per vehicle continuously increasing; in terms of individual value, the pixel requirements for vehicle-mounted cameras are rising, and currently, vehicle-mounted products have crossed the 8-megapixel threshold, with camera pixel improvements expected to steadily increase individual value. In the fields of security and machine vision, the functional requirements demand high-definition images, with significant trends in high resolution/night vision/stereo vision. In machine vision, there is a demand for high-speed scene shooting, and the necessity for global shutter technology is increasing, which is also expected to drive incremental demand for CIS.
Sony and Samsung may slow down the expansion of their CMOS business, while domestic manufacturers are expected to accelerate the process of domestic substitution.
In May 2024, Sony announced a reduction in its capital expenditure expectations for the CIS department, with a future focus on improving investment efficiency. In the fiscal year 2023, the yield of new CMOS image sensors for Sony's mobile devices is the primary issue the company faces, and due to the decline in mobile image sensor sales, Sony has lowered its FY24 performance expectations for the CIS department. Meanwhile, Samsung has relatively insufficient technical reserves in the 50M large sensor area, and in recent years, Samsung has focused its R&amp;D and expansion efforts on HBM to respond to the wave of the AI era, with Samsung Electronics likely shifting its strategic focus more towards storage business.
Therefore, Huachuang Securities believes that against the backdrop of Sony and Samsung shifting their strategic focus, the trend of high-end CIS localization is unstoppable. In the mobile business, domestic manufacturers are launching new 50M main cameras, with smooth progress in the introduction of mid-to-high-end 50M new products, and all manufacturers' mobile CMOS have achieved significant year-on-year growth in 24H1. From the perspective of the automotive and security fields, domestic manufacturers are also widely conducting product layout and market share expansion, which is expected to accelerate the process of domestic substitution.
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Risk warning:
Downstream demand may fall short of expectations, the localization process of CIS chips may not meet expectations, technological innovation and the iteration progress of downstream terminal products may not meet expectations, and there is a risk of price decline for CMOS image sensors

SONY

SSNGY

Huachuang Securities released a research report indicating that under the AI wave, domestic smartphone CMOS image sensors are expected to welcome upgrade opportunities, especially for main cameras and high-pixel secondary cameras. At the same time, multi-spectral CIS will bring new demand growth. The trend of increasing pixel counts in automotive and security cameras is evident, which is expected to drive both volume and price increases for CIS. Although Sony and Samsung dominate the global CMOS market, domestic manufacturers are gradually improving their product layouts, which is expected to accelerate the process of domestic substitution

Zhitong

Sony

Samsung Electronics 

Huawei

GCORE

WLCSP

SmartSens

OmniVision Group

HuaChuang Securities: Under the AI+ wave, the "heart" CMOS of information collection is expected to achieve great success