Samsung unveils first high quality smartphone camera sensor that exceeds 100 megapixels
South Korean company to start making Isocell Bright HMX sensor, developed with Chinese firm Xiaomi, that offers detailed images similar to those of high-end DSLR cameras
Samsung announced a new camera sensor on Monday, designed for smartphones, which packs 108 megapixels.
Smartphone cameras typically have about 12 to 16 megapixels, where each megapixel, or million pixels, represents the small individual areas on a computer screen that are used measure the quality of an image or digital screen.
However, Samsung’s new 108-megapixel camera sensor, the Isocell Bright HMX, is the first to go above 100 megapixels for a smartphone camera, the South Korean technology company says.
With its 108 megapixels, the Isocell Bright HMX is designed to take extremely detailed photos. It’s also designed to take better lowlight shots by merging the pixels to absorb more light
The megapixel count is comparable to a high-end digital single-lens reflex camera.
With its 108 megapixels, the Isocell Bright HMX is designed to take extremely detailed photos. It’s also designed to take better lowlight shots by merging the pixels to absorb more light.
When the pixels are merged, the megapixel count is reduced from 108 to 27, which is still more than twice as many as a standard smartphone camera.
For recording video, Samsung’s Isocell Bright HMX can shoot up to 6K resolution at 30 frames per second, where the highest video resolution that smartphone cameras have been able to shoot is 4K at 60 frames a second.
Samsung worked in partnership with Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi to develop the sensor, so it is likely that it will be featured in a forthcoming Xiaomi phone.
The South Korean firm did not mention whether its own smartphones or other smartphone makers in the future will feature the 108-megapixel sensor.
It said it was starting mass production of the Isocell Bright HMX sensor this month.