The Galaxy Note 8 will sport a dual camera setup comprised of two 13-megapixel sensors manufactured by Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, one industry source said on Tuesday, adding that the South Korean tech giant is currently developing three separate two-sensor mobile camera modules. It’s currently unclear whether the company is planning on shipping three devices with a dual camera setup by the end of the year or if one of them will feature four cameras in total; apart from the Galaxy Note 8, the only other Galaxy-branded devices that are rumored to feature dual rear cameras are the Galaxy C10 and Galaxy C10 Plus. Likewise, the source didn’t clarify on whether the primary imaging system of the Galaxy Note 8 will consist of lenses that are arranged in a vertical or a horizontal manner, nor did they provide more details on the phablet.
The Galaxy Note 7 was equipped with the Sony IMX260 sensor that was also present in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Likewise, the recently launched Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus feature Sony’s IMX333 sensor, so Samsung would be breaking a tradition if it opts to equip its next flagship with an in-house imaging solution. Still, in light of the fact that the company has been pushing its Exynos-series chips and is reportedly even developing a proprietary mobile GPU, its rumored decision to ditch Sony in favor of its own camera modules wouldn’t be completely unprecedented given its recent focus on in-house technologies. Provided that the Galaxy Note 8 ends up shipping with two 13-megapixel rear sensors, one might be of the monochrome variety and tasked with recording light and shadows while the other could be an RGB one meant to capture colors, which is a solution that many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) utilized in the past.
The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be relatively similar to the Galaxy S8-series devices in terms of internal hardware, though the handset should launch with a larger screen and battery, as well as a new version of the S Pen stylus. More details on Samsung’s upcoming phablet should be available in the coming weeks, with the phone supposedly launching as early as mid-August.