- An infographic helps to understand the shift represented by the arrival of the smartphone in the world of photography
- So much so that one of our colleagues believes that the smartphone has not replaced the camera, but that it alone represents the photo
- We will not settle the debate here, the defenders of the camera pointing out the imperfection of smartphones for certain tasks
It’s already a very old debate: is the smartphone taking over or completely replacing the camera? To see more clearly, the experts at Visual Capitalist have just published a very telling infographic. You can clearly see the incredible impact of smartphones, and especially the iPhone, in comparison to camera sales.
By commenting on this video on Twitter, our colleague Mr. Phaneditor-in-chief of geek journal, had this sentence which illustrates this observation well: “When I look at the final graph, I tell myself that the smartphone has never really replaced the camera because in real life, it’s the photo”.
Animated Chart: The Smartphone Effect on the Camera Market ?
This piece by @JamesEagle17 is part of Visual Capitalist’s Creator Program, featuring work from the world’s top data-driven talent ✅ pic.twitter.com/sYSNjP41vE
— Visual Capitalist (@VisualCap) April 10, 2023
He adds, not without irony, with regard to the evolution of the two companies: “The funny thing is that the iPhone is the tipping point when it was so poor in photography compared to the competition. I still think about my Nokia N95”.
Smartphones are not necessarily intended to completely replace cameras, but we cannot deny that they have completely democratized photography among the general public.
The smartphone has killed the camera market
This video from Visual Capitalist has in any case a striking side. In particular, we can see that the arrival of the Kodak Brownie in 1900 was a first major reversal in giving the public access to an inexpensive camera.
Much later, the introduction of new technologies led to improved shutter speeds and lenses, with still a few decades later the arrival of single-lens reflex cameras.
Another revolution coincided with the launch of digital cameras in the early 2000s. Sales then only increased, and it is estimated that up to 52% of households owned one by 2005. The smartphone eventually passed over there and has greatly threatened that market. While 121.2 million cameras were sold in 2009, there were only 8.4 million in 2021.
As experts point out, however, there are always situations where cameras do better than smartphones, especially when it comes to image quality in low light.
