We’ve been hearing rumors for quite some time about Samsung phones having a 108-megapixel sensor, but some believe that could be a bit premature. Xiaomi was the first one to use Samsung’s 108-megapixel sensor, but Honor and Sony are opposing Xiaomi and Samsung by saying it’s too early for 100-megapixel cameras in phones.
Sony discounts rumors of 100-megapixel camera
Sony officially denied rumors that it was working on a 100-megapixel sensor for smartphone cameras, saying that it’s too early for that. Now Honor Mobile Marketing Manager Shen Kaixin has agreed with Sony, which makes sense, considering that the two companies partner with each other.
We looked for the source of the rumor, but Gizchina is the only one reporting it. It’s unclear where exactly the rumor came from, but it’s possible that it circulated through Asian news outlets.
Why Honor and Sony think it’s too early for more megapixels
According to Gizchina, Klaixin explained that with a 100-megapixel resolution, it would be difficult for the pixels to be larger than 0.8um. He added that Sony and Honor believe pixels must be at least 1um to “ensure the typical light sensitivity and image quality required on a flagship.” He also said that this year, their flagship smartphones will focus on larger base pixels rather than pixel count, which is what Samsung and Xiaomi are apparently focusing on.
Huawei didn’t say anything about the debate, but it’s assumed that since its subsidiary Honor takes this view, that it will as well. Indeed, rumors have suggested that Huawei’s P40 Pro will feature a 52-megapixel camera sensor that’s custom-made by Sony. It will feature pixel binning four-in-one technology, which enables the sensor to merge four pixels and combine them into one so that it can capture more light. That means reduced noise in low-light photos.
Android Authority wrote about this very issue in April 2019, and the verdict on high-megapixel smartphone cameras was the same. Larger pixels tend to be better than more pixels. Of course, this debate could continue until more comparisons of cameras with larger and more pixels are compared across brands.
