Sony is spending £200m so you can take better selfies
Sony is planning to spend an additional £200m to increase production of the technology found in cameras and used for taking selfies.
The Japanese electronics firm is upping production of its CMOS image sensor which is already found in the rear cameras of Apple’s iPhones and other smartphones.
Device makers tend to make smartphones with higher spec rear cameras which produce better quality images compared to the front-facing cameras used to take selfies.
2014 is officially the year of the selfie since a picture of Ellen deGeneres and a host of Hollywood stars at the Oscars went viral, and Sony thinks the trend will lead to greater demand for higher resolution cameras on the front of smartphones.
Sony predicts that it can grow its share of the image sensor market on the back of the demand, it told Reuters.
In addition to the boom in selfies and video calls using mobile technology, future growth is expected to be driven by wearable tech, security and surveillance and medical imaging.
The CMOS image sensor is used to convert images into electronic signals and the market for the technology is estimated to be worth $13bn by 2018 according to analysts Yole.