Redmi teases a 64MP smartphone (Update: And four rear cameras?)

Update, July 23, 2019, 08:33 am: Redmi has teased its secretive 64MP smartphone again today via Weibo. In a new promo image, the company again suggested it would soon unveil a phone capable of snapping 64 million pixels, but it also gave us a new tidbit to get excited over.

The teaser image shows an allusion to four camera sensors, while the accompanying text of the Weibo post (machine translated) mentions “four-shot” technology. It looks like Redmi’s 64MP camera phone may come with a quad-camera setup.

This is just conjecture right now and we don’t exactly know what four cameras would mean for the upcoming phone, if that is indeed what is being teased at all. There’s a chance the phone would sport two front-facing cameras and two rear-facing cameras, rather than four in a row as the image seems to show.

If it does feature an array of four rear cameras, it would be the first Redmi phone to do so, and would put the device alongside a rare breed of phones like the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and HUAWEI P30 Pro. Even Redmi owner Xiaomi doesn’t have a phone with four rear cameras.

Previous coverage, July 22, 2019, 02:12 am: 2019 has been the year of the 48MP camera, as everyone from Asus to ZTE offered the high resolution rear shooter. We aren’t stopping there though, as Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand has teased a 64MP smartphone today.

The brand posted a 64MP sample image to Weibo, showing a cat and a zoomed-in section of the cat’s eye. There’s not much else to say about the photo, although it certainly seems to pack plenty of detail. Then again, the real test of a smartphone camera usually comes in low-light situations. Redmi GM Lu Weibing has also posted a screenshot from the phone in question, showing off a 64MP mode (as well as portrait and night modes).

“Redmi’s first 64 million pixel sample. Every detail is complete. The mobile phone officially entered the 64 million pixel era!” read a machine-translated version of Redmi’s post.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard about a 64MP smartphone from Xiaomi though, as XDA uncovered references to a 64MP dual camera device in the MIUI Camera app last month. It’s not clear whether the device teased on Weibo is the same phone uncovered by XDA, but it’s clear that a 64MP Xiaomi phone isn’t far away now. We’re also expecting an affordable price tag for the new phone, given Redmi’s budget focus.

Redmi wouldn’t be the only company to launch a 64MP smartphone though, as Realme teased a 64MP quad camera phone last month. realme confirmed that it’s using the Samsung GW-1 sensor, but Redmi hasn’t disclosed its sensor details.

The Samsung GW-1 sensor is able to snap full-resolution 64MP images, but it uses pixel-binning for low-light situations. The sensor packs 0.8 micron pixels, but it’s able to snap images equivalent to a 16MP 1.6 micron camera when using pixel-binning functionality. This compares favorably in theory to 48MP sensors, which can churn out pixel-binned shots that are equivalent to a 12MP 1.6 micron camera.

Would you buy a 64MP smartphone? Let us know in the comments.

NEXT: Best pop-up camera phones and slider phones to buy in 2019