Canon says a growing "anti-smartphone" movement is now driving camera sales — a striking reversal after more than a decade in which phones gutted the dedicated camera business.

The claim, reported by Yahoo Finance, comes from the largest camera maker by volume, so it carries weight beyond typical manufacturer optimism. Smartphones have decimated the camera industry since the late 2000s, collapsing compact camera sales and shrinking interchangeable-lens shipments to a fraction of their peak. If buyers are now turning away from phone photography in meaningful numbers, that changes the demand picture for working photographers, retailers, and lens makers alike.

For professionals, the more useful question is what Canon means by the label. Executives have previously framed the trend around younger consumers seeking dedicated devices, film-inspired workflows, and imagery that stands apart from the computational, heavily processed look of phone cameras. That shift matters commercially: it supports premium pricing for full-frame and APS-C bodies, sustains investment in prime lens lines, and keeps demand alive in a market that CIPA shipment data shows is far below its 2010-era highs.

Treat the framing with care, though. Camera unit volumes remain a fraction of what the industry shipped before the smartphone era, and Canon has a direct commercial interest in casting market recovery as a durable cultural shift rather than a post-pandemic bump. The company has not, in the reporting available, tied the claim to specific shipment or market-share figures with dates attached. Analysts have also noted that much of the industry's revenue recovery comes from higher-priced bodies — fewer units, higher margins — rather than a broad return of the casual buyer.

For photo businesses, the practical read is straightforward. If Canon's diagnosis holds, demand concentrates among enthusiasts and content creators buying up-market gear, which supports the used-market values of recent bodies and lenses, and keeps manufacturers funding R&D in optics and sensors rather than retreating to compacts. Studios and retail operations serving that clientele should watch whether Canon converts the claim into product strategy — more creator-focused bodies, more affordable primes — when it next updates its lineup and shipment guidance.

Canon has bet heavily on this thesis before, maintaining interchangeable-lens production capacity through the downturn while rivals exited segments. The coming quarters of CIPA shipment data, and Canon's own fiscal reporting, will show whether the anti-smartphone movement is a measurable shift in buyer behavior or a convenient narrative for a market that simply stopped falling.