Samsung intends to maintain its leadership in the segment of top of the range camera phones and is already studying the photo sensors of the future.
Samsung is back on its feet and back to thinking about the possible implementation of a camera with a 600-megapixel sensor on its smartphones. However, there are still many, at least on paper, the obstacles that block the South Korean manufacturer starting from the structure of the ultra-sensitive sensor.
The first wave of news related to the implementation and installation of a 600 MP sensor on a smartphone of the South Korean company had already arrived last April, with an announcement that left many speechless. The executive vice president and head of the Sensor Business team, Yongin Park, had issued the challenge to the human eye: to overcome the 500 MP of the organ with a highly superior digital eye. From theory to practice, however, the road is long and, months later, there are still many limitations that prevent making this significant leap into the future of photography via smartphones and beyond.
Samsung and the 600 MP sensor, what is the current situation
For Samsung Semiconductor the 500 MP sensor is the goal to be achieved, at least according to the head of marketing Jinhyun Kwon. However, according to the data made known through the report published online by the well-known tipster Ice Universe, the constraints that Samsung should be able to overcome before seeing his idea come to fruition are still many. The goal of 0.7μm pixels with the Isocell HM2 sensor launched last September, at this point, appears to be only a small step on a path of many miles.
Samsung, the unresolved problems of the 600 megapixel camera
The first problem that Samsung Semiconductor, the wing of the South Korean giant particularly interested in the implementation, should be able to address is that of the size of the sensor. According to current technologies, in fact, a 600 MP sensor would require a thickness beyond the body of the smartphone of about 22 mm, three times as thick as the current model of the Galaxy S20.
Also the area occupied by the sensor itself, on the back of the phone, would obviously be greater so as to create a not inconsiderable bulk on the rear shell. Last but not least is the processor: such a powerful sensor would require an equally powerful brain, a level not yet reached by the current SoC available on the market.
Samsung, when will the 600 MP sensor arrive
State of the art, it is not yet possible to predict when it will be possible to finally see on the market a smartphone with a 600 MP photo sensor. If, however, on the evolution of the Samsung Galaxy S20, namely the Galaxy S21, it will be very likely to find a 108 MP camera, it is not certain that in the near future we can not beat the finish line and begin the climb towards the record number.