Shipments of Android-based smartphones featuring 3D sensing technology are set to boom in 2019, propelled by the increasing adoption of back-end time-of-flight (ToF) sensor solutions, according to Digitimes Research.

Oppo's Find X and Xiaomi's Mi 8 Explorer, launched in mid-2018, were the first two Android-based models that came with 3D sensing technology. Huawei then followed by rolling out its 3D sensing-enabled models including Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 RS and Honor Magic 2 3D. However, only the Find X and Mate 20 Pro have seen their shipments reach over one million units each since launch.

While a number of China-based suppliers such as AAC Technologies, Jiangxi Liangchung Electronic and Crystal-Optech have entered the 3D sensor supply chain, China's Android phone makers still rely on imports of some key components including vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) devices, diffractive optics element (DOE) products and infrared CMOS image sensors from international brands.

The 3D sensing solutions used by China's handset makers in 2018 were mostly based on structured light technology and carry rather high production costs, and therefore this 3D sensing is only adopted for flagship models.

However, the introduction of active 3D stereo camera solutions which come with relatively low cost and simple design process, is expected to help extend the adoption of 3D sensing technology to mid-tier to high-end models in 2019.

Additionally, Oppo led all other Android phone makers to launch its first model with a back-end ToF 3D sensor in November 2018. Other major fellow companies including Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo are likely to follow suit to roll out ToF-enabled models in 2019.

Shipments of ToF-focused Android-based smartphones are likely to reach 20 million units in 2019, Digitimes Research estimates.