Samsung unveils first 108-MP image sensor for smartphones

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. unveiled the industry’s first 108-megapixel (MP) mobile image sensor, the ISOCELL Bright HMX, delivering DSLR camera resolution to smartphones. This new device, developed in collaboration with Xiaomi Corp., expands Samsung’s 0.8 μm image sensor offerings from its most recent ultra-high 64 MP to 108 MP, delivering extremely sharp photos even in extreme lighting conditions.

The ISOCELL Bright HMX is the first mobile image sensor to adopt a large 1/1.33-inch size and can absorb more light in low-lit settings than smaller sensors. Samsung incorporates two technologies — Tetracell and Smart-ISO — to offer vivid images in all kinds of lighting conditions.

The imager uses Samsung’s pixel-merging Tetracell technology that allows the sensor to imitate big-pixel sensors to produce brighter 27-MP images. For bright environments, the imager uses Smart-ISO technology that selects the level of amplifier gains according to the environmental lighting, switching to low ISO for improved pixel saturation for more vivid photographs. In darker environments, Smart-ISO switches to high ISO to help reduce noise for clearer images.

The HMX also supports video recording without losses in field-of-view at resolutions up to 6 K (6016 × 3384) at 30 frames-per-second (fps).

Mass production for the ISOCELL Bright HMX will begin later this month.