Samsung details what could be the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 200MP camera sensor

Samsung has finally lifted the veil from its long-rumored 200MP ISOCELL HP2 camera sensor. The company said in a press release that the sensor will power the “ultimate high-resolution experience in flagship smartphones.”

Although Samsung didn’t explicitly say so in its announcement, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is widely expected to house the new sensor. The timing of its announcement also coincides with the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked launch on February 1.

So what’s the new ISOCELL HP2 all about? Well, it has 200 million 0.6-micrometer pixels in a 1/1.3-inch optical format, a sensor size that is widely used in 108MP main smartphone cameras. Samsung says the size ensures premium phones don’t end up with even bigger camera bumps.

The ISOCELL HP2 can shoot images at 12.5MP, 50MP, or even the full 200MP resolution using various pixel binning options. Samsung also uses AI to brush up the 200MP images.

“When in low-lit environments, the sensor transforms either into a 1.2μm 50MP or 2.4μm 12.5MP image sensor by binding four to 16 neighboring pixels. For fuller 8K video, approximately at 33MP, the HP2 switches to 1.2μm 50MP mode to minimize cropping and capture more of the scene,” Samsung explained in the press release.

Samsung is also boosting light capture with the new sensor. The company is using a new Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (D-VTG) technology to reduce washed-out pictures in brightly lit environments. Samsung says the tech enhances color reproduction and cuts out excess exposure in bright light.

HDR photography also gets a boost with Samsung’s Dual Slope Gain feature that digitizes each pixel’s exposure data at two different levels to gather bright and dark data when shooting in the 50MP mode. The sensor is also capable of faster auto-focussing in dimly lit environments.