Samsung 108MP camera sensor announced: And you thought 64MP was overkill?

Xiaomi confirmed earlier last week that it would introduce a phone with a 108MP camera in partnership with Samsung. Now, the Korean manufacturer has unveiled the sensor in question, called the Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX.

Samsung confirmed that the new sensor has 0.8 micron pixels or photo-sites — the same size as current 48MP and 64MP cameras. The sensor also uses pixel-binning to deliver shots that are comparable to a 27MP 1.6 micron pixel camera.

Meanwhile, the 48MP and 64MP sensors use pixel-binning to deliver pictures that are comparable to a 12MP and 16MP 1.6 micron pixel camera respectively. In other words, you should theoretically expect the ISOCELL Bright HMX to offer similar low-light performance as previous ultra high-resolution sensors at the very least. We might see more detail from the 108MP snapper when the sun goes down, but only testing will tell.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S11 108MP camera: How good will the new sensor be?

Samsung is able to maintain the same pixel size as 48MP and 64MP sensors due to the 1/1.33-inch sensor size employed by the 108MP camera sensor. This sensor is therefore larger than Samsung’s 64MP GW-1 (1/1.72-inch) and 48MP cameras (1/2-inch).

The Korean manufacturer says the sensor also makes use of Smart ISO technology, and is able to shoot 6K video (6,016 x 3,384) at 30fps. There’s no word on 960fps super slow-motion support, but 64MP and 48MP don’t support the tech. So it stands to reason that the 108MP sensor lacks the required hardware.

Samsung says mass production of the ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor begins later this month. This suggests we could see a 108MP phone before the end of the year. In fact, it’s rumored that the Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 will be the first device to pack Samsung’s new sensor.

Would you buy a 108MP smartphone? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!