Eric Zeman/Android Authority
TL; PhD
- According to reports, Samsung is developing a 576MP camera sensor.
- The sensor may debut as early as 2025.
- This happened after Samsung leaked its plans for a 600MP sensor target in 2020.
Samsung has been leading the megapixel war recently and launched a new 200MP camera a few days ago. However, it does not want to stop there. Last year, it announced plans to bring 600MP cameras to the market. According to the leaked conference slides (h/t Image sensor world), the reality may be only a few years old.
According to a slide show by Haechang Lee, vice president of Samsung’s Advanced Automotive Sensors, at the SEMI Europe Summit, Samsung plans to bring the 576MP sensor to the market by 2025. The finer details of the sensor are still unknown, but Samsung has previously designated 500MP as the resolution estimated to be equivalent to the human eye.
Before you get excited about the 600MP sensors in future flagship products, Samsung has previously discussed large sensors for automotive applications, virtual reality, and drones. Of course, this is not to say that we will not see large megapixel cameras on smartphones in the future. Just a few years ago, the company’s 200MP HP1 sensor seemed a far-fetched concept.
read more: Why camera sensor size is more important than megapixels
To this end, Samsung has begun to deal with the challenge of large image sensors on smartphones, from reducing camera bumps to reducing the physical footprint of the sensor. However, as the sensor absorbs a lot of details, processing power may become the next big obstacle.
Either way, we are about four years away from the launch of Samsung’s first 576MP camera sensor, regardless of its application. It remains to be seen whether the company can meet the date of this plan.