Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years. With its really affordable and attractive pricing and competitive specifications, Xiaomi’s phones have managed to dominate the Indian smartphone market. With that being said, the company hasn’t lost its focus on innovating its phones. The brand had introduced the Xiaomi Mi MIX smartphone which made the bezel-less screens mainstream. Now, Xiaomi has teased yet another revolutionary addition to one of its line-up, a 48MP camera sensor. On top of that, Xiaomi has also announced that this phone would probably launch in January 2019.
48MP Sensor Camera Phone - Mi Mix 3S or Mi 9?
Now with phones like Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XS and Google Pixel 3 in the market right now, which also enable top class imaging capability, what the new smartphone by Xiaomi will ship in terms of imaging quality is yet to be seen.
Xiaomi President, Lin Bin took to the Chinese social media site and microblogging platform, Weibo, and shared an image of the new phone which comes with the 48MP camera sensor. On taking a closer look at the picture, we get to see a 48MP camera sensor which is paired with a dual-tone LED flash. On the side edge of the phone, we also spot the volume rockers thus confirming that this sensor makes its way on the rear side of the phone. Another thing to note is that this camera module appears to be placed on a raised section of the device, which points towards the direction of a dual or triple rear camera setup. Even Xiaomi's global spokesperson, Donovan Sung confirmed the phone would launch in January 2019.
As per the reports surfacing online, this new phone is expected to make its way into the market in January 2019. Now the question remains whether this phone will be the successor to the Mi 8 or the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 or Mi Mix 3S. Since we know that Xiaomi has kept its Mi 7 and Mi 8 release for post-MWC slots, it is rather unlikely that the phone will be the successor to the Mi 8. On the other hand, this could mean that the phone makes its debut as a 5G version of the Mi Mix 3 or the Mi Mix 3S. Also, as we know from previous updates, the 5G phones which are slated to launch in 2019 will come with an expensive price tag and this new 48MP sensor might as well be a new addition from Xiaomi to explain the hefty pricing.
Sony 48MP Sensor vs Samsung 48MP Sensor
There are two options for the new 48MP sensor which Xiaomi seems to be implementing for its next flagship smartphone. The first contender for the spot is the Sony IMX586 camera sensor which was unveiled in July 2018, and it comes with an impressive 48MP resolution. Xiaomi has been known to use Sony IMX sensors for its flagship devices. However, now there is also another 48MP sensor from Samsung which might take the spot on the new phone. This new sensor by Samsung is the ISOCELL Bright GM1 which was unveiled back in October. Both of these camera sensors span a 1/2-inch and feature 0.8?m pixels, and they can render 12MP resolution images with a 1.6?m equivalent light sensitivity.
Unlike sensor with smaller pixels which exhibit poor light sensitivity and higher noise, Sony has asserted that images out of this new 48MP sensor will be able to boast four times dynamic range when compared to the traditional sensors. This will be possible thanks to the real-time HDR functionality and Quad Bayer Array technology. Sony’s sensors have also been claimed to be capable of shooting 4K videos at 90fps which will go well with the newly announced Snapdragon 855 processor.
