Samsung has officially announced a 108 Megapixels (MP) Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX smartphone sensor which is the first in the smartphone industry to go beyond 100MP. 

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We've recently seen 48MP sensors in smartphones such as the Honor 20 Pro, and Xiaomi has been teasing a Redmi 64MP smartphone but as of yet, none of the major brands have gone beyond this but, this could be soon about to change. 

Samsung partnered with Xiaomi to create the Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor which is equivalent to that of a high-end DSLR camera but how good the image quality will be is still questionable as we've not really been impressed with 48MP images captured with smartphones, preferring the 12MP images they capture. 

“For ISOCELL Bright HMX, Xiaomi and Samsung have worked closely together from the early conceptual stage to production that has resulted in a groundbreaking 108Mp image sensor. We are very pleased that picture resolutions previously available only in a few top-tier DSLR cameras can now be designed into smartphones,” said Lin Bin, co-founder and president of Xiaomi. “As we continue our partnership, we anticipate bringing not only new mobile camera experiences but also a platform through which our users can create unique content.”

The new image sensor also promises better low light results as its 1/1.33-inch size means that the HMX can absorb more light in low-lit settings than smaller sensors. Plus, the pixel-merging Tetracell technology allows the sensor to imitate big-pixel sensors, producing brighter 27MP images. Smart-ISO technology will also mean that the right ISO level is selected in bright/low light to help retain more detail and keep noise to a minimum. 

For those who capture video regularly with smartphones, the 100MP sensor brings 6K, 30 frames per second to devices, too. 

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

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