Back in August 2019, Samsung announced the world’s first 108-megapixel camera for smartphones. That camera debuted on a Xiaomi smartphone. Now, as Samsung is said to be developing a 200-megapixel smartphone camera, Xiaomi is seemingly once again preparing to introduce it to the market.
A couple of months back, Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station had claimed that the fast-growing Chinese phone maker will be the first OEM to release a smartphone with a 200-megapixel camera. The same source has now reiterated that report and also revealed some more information about this development.
As per the latest report, the upcoming Xiaomi smartphone will feature an improved, dual-curved display with a single punch-hole for the front-facing camera. The new device will also use the SM8450 platform. Now, that’s another unannounced product. But recent reports, as well as the part number, suggest it’s the successor to Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC (which bears the part number SM8350).
No, we are not talking about the just-announced Snapdragon 888 ‘Plus,’ though. This chipset is a minor iteration upgrade that brings just a few improvements. The so-called SM8450 is a whole new solution that will power many flagship Android smartphones in 2022.
Noted tipster Evan Blass recently claimed that the new platform will use a 4nm fabrication process. So it should bring improved power-efficiency. It will also reportedly feature the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF system for 5G connectivity. Last but not least, the new platform will include the Adreno 730 GPU and a Spectra 680 ISP.
Xiaomi Mi 12 series might debut the 200MP Samsung camera
It’s unclear which upcoming Xiaomi smartphone will debut the world’s first 200-megapixel smartphone camera. But a calculated guess points to the Mi 12 series. The devices should succeed the company’s Mi 11 flagships launched earlier this year. The new Xiaomi flagships will likely arrive in the first quarter of next year.
However, before that, Samsung will have to announce the new 200-megapixel camera for smartphones. The Korean firm is said to be teaming up with veteran Japanese camera brand Olympus for the next-gen image sensor. It will reportedly feature 16-to-1 pixel binning technology to produce effective 12-megapixel images.
Anyways, it should be safe to assume that the world’s first smartphone with a 200-megapixel camera will not arrive in the market anytime soon. The leaks may have started coming in but we are still a long way before things really start to take shape. We will keep you updated as and when more information emerges.