Opened ‘100 million pixel era’, an image sensor for smartphones

Samsung Electronics announced the ISOCELL Bright HMX (ISOCELL Bright HMX), a 108 million pixel image sensor for mobile devices such as smartphones. It is also a sensor that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced a few days ago.

This sensor is 1/1.33 inch, the largest for a smartphone. Compared to the 1-inch sensor used in high-end compact digital cameras, it is three-quarters the size. Isocell Bright HMX can also operate as a 27 megapixel sensor that can shoot brightly even in dark places by arranging 4 pixels and processing them into 1 pixel using Tetracell technology.

In addition, through Smart-ISO technology, the image sensor can automatically select the ISO sensitivity according to the surrounding brightness, and the ISO sensitivity can be increased even in dark places. Video can be shot at 6016×3384, so 30 frames in 6K resolution.

Recently, for image sensors for smartphones, Samsung Electronics and Sony are competing for the number of pixels. Both companies announced 48 megapixel sensors in 2018. However, when Samsung Electronics announced an image sensor for a 64 million pixel smartphone in May this year, it was one step ahead of Sony, and this time it achieved a milestone by introducing a 100 million pixel sensor. In the presentation, Samsung Electronics expressed that Xiaomi and Samsung Electronics developed an innovative 108MP image sensor in close cooperation from the initial concept stage to production.

According to Samsung Electronics, mass production of Isocell Bright HMX is scheduled to begin this month. The smartphone that will be equipped with a 100 million pixel sensor will be released by Xiaomi. With the announcement of the 100 million pixel sensor, the competition for camera performance for smartphones is expected to intensify in the future. Related information can be found here .