Sony will launch the world’s first 1-inch camera sensor made specifically for phones
For those of you who are wondering, this is a 50-megapixel camera sensor, and it has a native pixel size of around 1.5um. Needless to say, it should be able to offer excellent performance in low light, when paired with good camera software. Some of you may be a bit confused by this, as this is not the first 1-inch camera sensor used in phones. The Sony Xperia PRO-I includes a 1-inch sensor. That may be true, but the Sony IMX989 will be the first 1-inch camera sensor made specifically for phones. The Sony Xperia PRO-I includes a cropped version of a sensor used in Sony’s digital cameras. Needless to say, there’s a difference here. The Sony IMX989 should be a better option, though we still don’t know all the details. This camera sensor has the potential to offer better image and video quality than Samsung’s new ISOCELL GN2 sensor, the company’s new 200-megapixel camera sensor. Once again, though, the camera software is of utmost importance as well.
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be the phone which will debut this camera sensor
How do we know the Xiaomi 12S Ultra will feature this 50-megapixel camera? Well, Lei Jun, the company’s CEO, confirmed it via Twitter. He explicitly mentioned the Sony IMX989, while also mentioning this is a 1-inch sensor. If you take a look at the image provided below, however, you’ll see how large the Sony IMX989 sensor is. The iPhone 13 Pro Max’s main camera sensor looks truly tiny in comparison.
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will launch alongside the Xiaomi 12S and 12S Pro. All three phones will include Leica lenses, by the way, as they’re the first devices that come as a result of a partnership between the two companies.