Samsung Expects 10% of Smartphones to Have Triple Camera Next Year

SeekingAlpha: Samsung reports an increase in image sensor sales in Q2 2018 and a strong forecast for both its own image sensor and also the image sensors manufactured at Samsung foundry. Regarding the triple camera trends, Samsung says:

"First of all, regarding the triple camera, the triple camera offers various advantages, such as optical zoom or ultra-wide angle, also extreme low-light imaging. And that's why we're expecting more and more handsets to adopt triple cameras not only in 2018 but next year as well.

But by next year, about 10% of handsets are expected to have triple cameras. And triple camera adoption will continue to grow even after that point. Given this market outlook, actually, we've already completed quite a wide range of sensor line-up that can support the key features, such as optical zoom, ultra-wide viewing angle, bokeh and video support so that we're able to supply image sensors upon demand by customers.

At the same time, we will continue to develop higher performance image sensors that would be able to implement even more differentiating and sophisticated features based on triple camera.

To answer your second part of your question about capacity plan from the Foundry business side, given the expected increase of sensor demand going forward, we are planning additional investments to convert Line 11 from Hwaseong DRAM to image sensors with the target of going into mass production during first half of 2019. The actual size of that capacity will be flexibly managed depending on the customers' demand."