Published 18:01 IST, September 3rd 2019
Xiaomi maybe prepping as many as four new 108MP camera phones
Xiaomi has already confirmed that it is working with Samsung on a 108MP camera phone, but nobody would have expected it to be working on four such phones.
Xiaomi, the same company that spearheaded the smartphone camera megapixel wars in India earlier this year, maybe looking to take things to an all new level. The company already has a few 48MP camera phones to its name and only recently it launched the 64MP camera-toting Redmi Note 8 Pro, and a now a new report suggests the company may be working on as many as four new phones with a whopping 108MP camera. Xiaomi has already confirmed that it is working with Samsung on a 108MP camera phone – that phone is rumored to be the Mi Mix 4 – but nobody would have expected it to be working on four such phones – already. Interestingly, none of these four phones are likely to be the Mi Mix 4, so either that one would be skipping out on it altogether, or we would have to wait longer to know more about it.
A whopping 108MP camera
Folks at xda-developers have unearthed the mention of four upcoming Xiaomi phones from the company’s Mi Gallery app which seems to be in line to get an update to support viewing of 108MP photos in full resolution. The said functionality is however specific to four unreleased Xiaomi phones leading to speculation that these phones should also support clicking high-resolution 108MP photos in the first place – that said, this is pure speculation for now. The phones in question are apparently codenamed tucana, draco, umi, and cmi.
The 108MP camera mentions do not explicitly mention the kind of sensor involved but there’s only one doing that sort of stuff for now – Samsung's newly announced ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor. Sony is yet to announce a competing sensor. Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor works on the same principle as its 64MP GW1, 48MP GM1 and 32MP GD1 sensors – effectively producing sharper, more detailed 27MP photos in low light and using software interpolation to produce high resolution 64MP photos as and when required. Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be the first company in the world to ship a smartphone equipped with Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor and while we still await further details, looks like, the megapixel wars have only just begun.
Updated 18:23 IST, September 3rd 2019