A well-known tipster has just shared some rather interesting, and exciting information regarding upcoming smartphone cameras. According to Ice Universe, smartphones in 2020 will utilize 10x optical zoom, and we’ll see a 108-megapixel camera on them.
This, of course, applies only to particular flagship smartphones, but it sounds exciting nonetheless. 10x optical zoom will be immensely useful, needless to say, as zooming in 10x without losing quality while doing so is quite useful.
Both Huawei and OPPO utilized periscope camera systems this year, which allowed users to zoom in quite a bit and get great results, so we’re looking forward to seeing similar tech being implemented into more phones,… even though the main sensor will not be the one that such phones will utilize.
Many people claimed that a 48-megapixel camera is not necessary on a smartphone, that it’s an overkill, and so on. Well, 48-megapixel cameras are here, and thanks to pixel binning, phones that feature such camera sensors are able to provide great-looking 12-megapixel images, most of them at least.
So, having a 108-megapixel camera with similar technology included on a smartphone would allow for even more detail to creep into a picture, and by the way of pixel binning (presumably), create an even better-looking image. There are many variables included here, though, so we cannot say that the pictures will be better, but let’s hope that with the right combination of aperture, pixel size, and software, we’ll get the results we’re hoping for.
Chances are that Chinese OEMs will be the first ones to deliver a 108-megapixel camera to smartphones, at least that was the case in the past when it comes to increasing pixel counts on cameras.
It is worth noting that different OEMs have different approaches to smartphone photography, Google has been sticking to a single 12.2-megapixel sensor for quite some time, and that has proven to be a great choice by the company. Google’s software does most of the heavy lifting, and the Pixel 3 series is still considered to have one of the best cameras around. Google is moving to a dual camera setup this year, though, so it remains to be seen what the company will come up with next year.
Samsung is due for a camera upgrade as well, the company has been utilizing similar setups for quite some time now, and it seems like the Galaxy Note10 will sport the same main sensor as the Galaxy S10, though it will offer some improvements in terms of a three-stage variable aperture, and some other additions by the company. The Galaxy S11, however, is rumored to bring some innovation in that regard.
All in all, it seems like 2020 will be quite an interesting year for smartphone cameras, and mark yet another significant step forward for smartphone photography, at least based on the hype created by Ice Universe’s tweet. Presuming that his info is true, we’ll probably see more information regarding those 108-megapixel sensors in the near future.