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| SK hynix's Black Pearl CMOS image sensor / Courtesy of SK hynix |
By Baek Byung-yeul
SK hynix is strengthening its CMOS image sensor business to capitalize on the fast-growing smartphone camera market, the semiconductor arm of SK Group said Friday.
The company said it has developed four new CMOS image sensors under its new brand "Black Pearl." The chipmaker has begun supplying three of them to smartphone manufacturers and will begin mass production of the fourth this month.
CMOS stands for "complementary metal oxide semiconductor," an image sensor increasingly used in smart devices. SK hynix recently rebranded its CMOS image sensor enterprise as Black Pearl to strengthen its stance against rivals Sony and Samsung, which already have their own image sensor brands ― Exmor and ISOCELL.
SK hynix converted part of its DRAM production line in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province into a production center for its CMOS image sensors. Sony and Samsung held market shares of 48 percent and 21 percent, respectively, in 2019, according to data by market researcher Techno System Research (TSR).
Smartphone manufacturers are increasing the number of cameras embedded into each of their products in order to offer users a high-end experience with enhanced picture quality. This market development has led SK hynix to up its efforts to strengthen its own CMOS image sensor business.
The average number of cameras on smartphones globally was estimated at 3.2 in 2019, and this figure will grow to 3.9 this year, SK hynix said. According to market researcher Techno System Research, the average number of cameras embedded into each smartphone will exceed four by 2023.
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