Since 2020 there have been rumors that Samsung will release a new photo sensor dedicated to smartphones, a 200 MP one. Well, that happened today, and the South Korean company has officially launched two new sensors. In the foreground is the Samsung ISOCELL HP1, the first 200MP sensor for phones, but the ISOCELL GN5, a 50MP sensor, also debuted. We have details below.
ISOCELL HP1
ISOCELL HP1 marks a world premiere, being the first photo sensor dedicated to 200 megapixel smartphones. It comes with 0.64 micron pixels and uses a new technology called ChameleonCell. It also comes with pixel binning technology as expected. He can thus take photos at 200 MP, 50 MP or 12.5 MP, depending on the situation. Thus, it can group 4 or 8 pixels. It can shoot in 8K quality at 30 FPS with minimal field of view loss.
In the case of shooting at 50 MP in 8K quality, the resolution will not be scaled, and in a low-light scenario the sensor adapts and merges 16 pixels into one, they have a size of 2.56μm in this case. Thus it absorbs more light and the sensitivity of the sensor is increased, resulting in sharper and brighter photos. In the case of daytime captures, the sensor can take 200 megapixel photos.
ISOCELL GN5
On the other hand, ISOCELL GN5 also debuted. And this one marks a first. It is the first photo sensor with 1 micron pixels that integrates Dual Pixel Pro technology. This is a multi-directional focus technology. Combined with the AI, the focus should be top notch. It places two photodiodes in each 1 micron pixel horizontally or vertically. Thus, it recognizes model changes in all directions. According to Samsung, one million multi-directional photodiodes are enough to cover all areas, and focusing will be achieved instantly.
It also uses Samsung's proprietary FDTI (Front Deep Trench Isolation) technology. Thus, despite the small size, the technology allows each photodiode to absorb more light and information from the environment. It therefore improves the storage capacity of the photodiodes.
Samsung is reportedly already shipping the ISOCELL HP1 and ISOCELL GN5 sensors to manufacturers. That means we should see the first smartphones with such sensors on board sometime in early 2022. They could also be integrated on the new Galaxy S22 series smartphones. As a reminder, Qualcomm brought support for 200MP sensors with the launch of the Snapdragon 888+ processor.