Samsung’s next flagship looks set to double the megapixels over predecessors
We’ve been hearing about Samsung’s 200MP camera sensor since late last year now. The Korean giant already announced a 200MP ISOCELL HP1 camera module in September 2021, which is expected to debut in a Motorola smartphone later this year. A new report now indicates that Samsung has completed development of another, even more advanced 200MP sensor that could apparently find its way into the Galaxy S23 in 2023.
The world’s number one smartphone maker currently uses a 108MP shooter on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, with other models in the lineup sporting a 50MP ISOCELL GN5 sensor. For the Galaxy S23 Ultra next year, the company apparently wants to take things to the next level by using an even higher resolution sensor. The ETNews report (via SamMobile) claims that the Korean company is close to completing development of its next-gen 200MP module. In an effort to diversify its supply chain, around 70% of sensor manufacturing orders would go to Samsung Electro-Mechanics, while Samsung Electronics would manufacture the remaining 30% itself.
This upcoming ISOCELL camera will be a new and improved version of the 200MP HP1 sensor that Samsung has already announced. However, it is currently unknown what exact improvements the new camera module will bring over the existing model. As the Galaxy S23 series is still in the development phase, there is no guarantee that the Korean smartphone maker will go ahead with a 200MP shooter on its flagship phone for next year either. That’s something only time will tell as we get closer to the launch of the S23.
A high-resolution sensor doesn’t automatically mean the Galaxy S23 will be able to take better photos than the S22 Ultra. To cram that many pixels onto a sensor, Samsung will have to reduce the pixel size to 0.64µm, which will negatively impact low-light image quality. While pixel binning is useful in such scenarios, it comes with its own set of limitations. It will be interesting to see what processing improvements Samsung intends to make to overcome these challenges.
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