Samsung 108MP camera sensor for smartphones announced in partnership with Xiaomi

Samsung debuts the world’s first mobile image sensor to go beyond 100 million pixels. This one is a 0.8-micron, 1/1.33-inch ISOCELL Bright HMX image sensor. The 1/1.33-inch sensor size is also an industry-first. Walking back a week, you may recall Xiaomi revealing its plans to bring a 108MP camera phone in collaboration with Samsung. Well, that upcoming phone, allegedly Mi Mix 4, will use this new Bright HMX sensor.

Mass production of 108MP HMX image sensors will start from later this month, and the sensor is expected to make it to real-world phones before the end of this year.

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What’s new with a 108MP camera sensor?

Keeping aside the scaled resolution, the technology that goes into the sensor remains similar to what Samsung has with its 64MP sensor.

First and foremost, the 108MP should be capable of projecting over 100 million effective pixels for tack-sharp photographs.

Samsung claims its ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor also fares well in extreme lighting conditions. The 1/1.13-inch sensor can absorb more light in low-lit settings than smaller sensors.

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The Pixel-binning Tetracell technology allows the sensor to combine four pixels into one larger pixel, producing brighter 27MP images. There is the neoteric Smart ISO feature which lowers ISO in bright areas for vivid photos and propels ISO for lesser noise in underexposed areas of a scene.

The HMX sensor is also equipped with lossless video recording up to 6K (6016 x 3384) at 30fps.

First, the 48MP camera phones, then 64MP and now 108MP, would be exciting, nonetheless for tech junkies and shutterbugs across the board.

Speaking on the launch, Xiaomi President and Samsung exec VP of senior business said –

“For ISOCELL Bright HMX, Xiaomi and Samsung have worked closely together from the early conceptual stage to production that has resulted in a groundbreaking 108Mp image sensor. We are very pleased that picture resolutions previously available only in a few top-tier DSLR cameras can now be designed into smartphones,” said Lin Bin, co-founder and president of Xiaomi. “As we continue our partnership, we anticipate bringing not only new mobile camera experiences but also a platform through which our users can create unique content.”

“Samsung is continuously pushing for innovations in pixel and logic technologies to engineer our ISOCELL image sensors to capture the world as close to how our eyes perceive them,” said Yongin Park, executive vice president of sensor business at Samsung Electronics. “Through close collaboration with Xiaomi, ISOCELL Bright HMX is the first mobile image sensor to pack over 100 million pixels and delivers unparalleled color reproduction and stunning detail with advanced Tetracell and ISOCELL Plus technology.”