Sony beats Samsung: 1st 1 “sensor for smartphones to debut on the new Xiaomi

If Samsung was the first brand to launch smartphone photo sensors from 100 MP and 200 MPSony is the first company to have developed a 1-inch sensor: this is theIMX989which will debut on the new Xiaomi 12S Ultra next 4th July.

It is a 50 MP sensor, with a pixel size of approximately 1.5 µm, which should theoretically offer excellent low-light performance. In this regard, the Xiaomi CEO Lei Junsaid that thanks to the new sensor and the collaboration with Leica, the photosensitive area, compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, increased by 172%, while the photosensitive capacity increased by 76%. In addition, the camera speed increased by 76% (startup speed by 11%). Among other things, the CEO of Xiaomi admitted that the Chinese company contributed economically and technically to the realization of the sensor, a process that cost about 15 million dollars.

During his speech, Lei Jun also revealed a detail about the other two Xiaomi smartphones out, or the 12S and 12S Pro. Both devices, in fact, they will use the Sony IMX707 sensor (the same already mounted on the 12 Pro). The official image of the Xiaomi 12S Pro shared by the company also confirmed the collaboration with Leica, since the wording “LEICA VARIO-SUMMICRON” stands out next to the photographic module. In this regard, the device is expected to support 2X optical zoom like the predecessor.

Therefore, it would seem that the new Sony 1 “sensor should guarantee significantly better image and video quality than, for example, that offered by the Samsung 200 MP sensor. However, a lot will also depend on the photo processing algorithms. To discover the true capabilities of the IMX989, therefore, we just have to wait for the debut of Xiaomi 12S Ultra.