Samsung Launches World's First 108-Megapixel Smartphone Camera Sensor in Partnership With Xiaomi

After launching a new 64-megapixel camera sensor earlier in May this year, Samsung today announced a new 108-megapixel camera sensor. The world's first 108-megapixel camera sensor for smartphones has been built by Samsung, in collaboration with Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi. Both the companies had earlier teamed up for a new 64-megapixel smartphone that will use Samsung's 64-megapixel ISOCELL GW1 sensor. Samsung believes the new, powerful sensor will allow smartphone users to take much better photographs.

In an announcement, Samsung revealed that its new ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor can produce great photographs in 'extreme' lighting conditions, thanks to over 100 million effective pixels. The sensor is 1/1.33-inch in size, allowing it to absorb light better with the large surface area.

Samsung will be using its Tetracell technology that combines four pixels as one to help smartphone users take better photos in low-light conditions. The technology can also help minis noise while improving colour accuracy.

As for bright lighting conditions, Samsung's new 108-megapixel camera sensor will use the company's Smart-ISO mechanism that helps create more vivid pictures by adjusting the level of amplifier gains based on the ambient light. The ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor can capture videos at resolutions up to 6K (6016x3384) at 30 fps (frames per second).

Samsung has further confirmed that mass production for its new ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor will begin later this month.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi will be the first company to use this new sensor. The Chinese smartphone company has already started teasing the upcoming launch of a new smartphone with Samsung's new 108-megapixel camera sensor.

“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.”

Xiaomi is also set to launch its first phone with a 64-megapixel camera sensor in India during the fourth quarter of this year. Other companies that are looking to introduce new smartphones with a 64-megapixel camera sensor include Realme as well as Samsung. All these phones will use Samsung's 64-megapixel camera sensor that was announced back in May this year.