Yole on Image Sensors Past, Present, and Future

Yole Developpement article "Image sensors have hugely benefited from Apple’s avant-garde strategy" by Pierre Cambou overviews image sensing history and possible future trends:

"We are now in the middle of a golden age for the CIS industry.

As the smartphone industry itself reaches a plateau, it is the perfect time for Apple to bring to market a new user interface based on 3D sensing CIS. It’s therefore not a surprise if this year’s keynote expands on the ideas presented in the iPhone X one year ago.

The future is definitely in the 3D touchless interactions demonstrated last year, first for biometric identifications, but not just that. Animojis, avatars and augmented reality filters are at the center of the new experience. All other smartphone producers are racing to match the functionality, and it will probably take another year before they do. Announcements from Xiomi, Oppo and Vivo have all indicated that the Chinese companies are particularly keen to join Apple on the 3D sensing strategy.

We are entering a new cycle of interactive devices. Smartphones are just one aspect to it. At Yole Développement we expect it will have deep impacts on the electronic industry more generally. It will give a new boost to consumer markets for smart assistants, smart home devices and consumer robotics, and possibly wearables. More importantly, the technology will have also deep implications in the security and automotive industries. This is part of the new paradigm shift toward sensing, and it is interesting to notice that Apple was the innovator in both previous shifts."