Samsung will expand the application of optical image stabilization (OIS) feature to all tiers of its Galaxy A series, including mid-tier and low-tier models, starting next year, TheElec has learned.
Up to last year, the company had only offered the feature for the cameras on its flagship brands Galaxy S and Note.
But starting this year, it began to apply OIS on the higher-tier models of its Galaxy A series.
OIS prevents screen blurs when taking a photo. The gyro sensor on the camera module adjusts the lens direction depending on the smartphone movement to offset shaking. Most main cameras on flagship smartphones have the feature.
Samsung has applied the feature mostly to its 64MP shooters on the Galaxy A series this year but will also feature them on 48MP cameras beginning next year.
In 2021, for the Galaxy A series, it applied OIS for the 64MP camera on the A72 model, 64MP camera on the A52 model and 48MP camera on the A22 4G model. All three smartphone models have high unit sales.
The A42 (48MP camera), the A32 (4G version has 64MP camera, 5G version has 48MP) and A22 5G (64MP), it had only applied auto-focus. The successors of these models launching in 2022 will mostly have OIS.
Samsung’s expanded application of OIS is to strengthen its mid- to low-tier smartphone models.
Chinese companies like Xiaomi are selling high spec smartphones at a lower price point to expand their market share.
Apple is also gearing up to launch its new iPhone SE 5G model during the first half of next year. The iPhone SE model that launched this year already had OIS and even a wireless charging feature.
Samsung’s move will also benefit its camera module suppliers such as Partron, Mcnex and Power Logics.
A single camera module costs around US$10 __ 70% of that cost comes from the image sensor and lens and 20% from OIS and actuators. OIS costs around 15% more than auto-focus. This means camera module suppliers can expect average sales prices of their modules to go up by around 3% if they add in OIS.
However, competition between the camera module suppliers is also expected to intensify. Samsung supplier Jaeyoung Solutec earlier this month said it will spend 15 billion won to enter the camera module market. The company is planning to supply Samsung with OIS camera modules during the fourth quarter at the earliest.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is also expanding its supply of camera modules to mid- to low-tier smartphone models. The firm had only supplied modules for Samsung’s flagship phones up to last year but it began supplying for Galaxy A22 this year.