How Does Sony’s New Camera Sensor Fit into the Smartphone Camera Market?

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4Q 2018 | IN-5216

Sony has announced its new IMX586 camera sensor, which appears to be moving away from other recent smartphone cameras that are focusing more on multilens setups than on increasing the number of megapixels. The 8 mm wide sensor features 8,000×6,000 48 megapixel (MP) resolution with 0.8 micron pixels, allowing it to provide high-quality photos in a compact size. The specifications allow for a 400% zoom to provide a 12 MP photo. In low light, smaller pixels are not so advantageous, so the sensor uses a Quad Bayer array, combining adjacent pixels in a 2×2 grid, increasing the pixel size to 1.6 microns, and offering the same colored filter rather than different colors that would occur in a standard Bayer array. It also features full resolution burst shooting at 30 frames per second (fps) and true 4K recording at 90 fps.

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Sony’s New IMX586 Camera Sensor

NEWS


Sony has announced its new IMX586 camera sensor, which appears to be moving away from other recent smartphone cameras that are focusing more on multilens setups than on increasing the number of megapixels. The 8 mm wide sensor features 8,000×6,000 48 megapixel (MP) resolution with 0.8 micron pixels, allowing it to provide high-quality photos in a compact size. The specifications allow for a 400% zoom to provide a 12 MP photo. In low light, smaller pixels are not so advantageous, so the sensor uses a Quad Bayer array, combining adjacent pixels in a 2×2 grid, increasing the pixel size to 1.6 microns, and offering the same colored filter rather than different colors that would occur in a standard Bayer array. It also features full resolution burst shooting at 30 frames per second (fps) and true 4K recording at 90 fps.

How the IMX586 Compares to Other Camera Sensors

IMPACT


In 2013, Nokia released the Lumia 1020, which featured a 41 MP camera and has not seen much, if any, development since. In more recent years, many smartphones have featured cameras with 12–16 MP cameras, with an aim to improve on other features. Smartphones such as Google’s Pixel 2, Apple’s iPhone X, and Samsung’s Galaxy S9 all feature 12 MP cameras, focusing on improving features such as autofocus, 4K video, and image stabilization. The pixel count of the IMX586 is larger than that of any other smartphone camera and improves on Sony’s own A7R III mirrorless camera.

The IMX586’s Quad Bayer array is similar to that of the camera in Huawei’s P20 Pro smartphone and allows for clearer low-light pictures. The low-light pixel size in Sony’s new camera sensor is larger than that of the 1.4 microns found in Samsung’s Galaxy S9. The IMX586 sensor is expected to cost roughly US$27, similar to the US$27.50 of the sensor in the Huawei P20 Pro and more than the US$15 of the sensor in the Samsung Galaxy S9.

The disadvantage of the IMX586 is the large amount of image data that will be collected. This will require a smartphone with a sensor that has upgraded specifications to handle the extra information—i.e., compared to a 12 MP camera, a 48 MP camera requires data to be transferred at four times the speed in four times the storage. Due to this, it is likely that the sensor will only be featured in high-end devices at this time. In addition, the sensor also does not support super slow motion, which can be seen on phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Apple’s iPhone X; however, it is possible that other sensors or a dual-camera sensor setup could allow for this feature to be added.

The IMX586 also seems to be moving away from other cameras and sensors that are being designed to give smartphones a multilens camera setup that captures different features to provide better color capture, detail, texture, and depth, as well as improving zoom and low-light quality. For example, the Huawei P20 Pro has a triple camera setup with a 40MP RGB sensor, a 20MP monochrome sensor, and an 8 MP telephoto sensor. Other smartphone cameras also have features such as optical image stabilization, Artificial Intelligence– (AI-) enhanced stabilization, AI automatic setup, and super slow motion, which allow the devices to have further use cases—which are often more important than the number of megapixels. The IMX586 camera sensor could be desired by consumers that are more focused on individual photograph quality than a range of camera features. It is also likely that the sensor will be combined with other camera modules, allowing for other features—such as better light sensitivity—to be added to the high resolution of the IMX586.

What the IMX586 Means for the Future of Smartphone Cameras

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It is not yet known which phone makers are looking to add the IMX586 sensor to their devices and when a smartphone will be released with it; however, it could be as soon as the end of this year, as Sony has an expected sample shipment date of September 2018. Sony’s current sensors can be found on devices such as Google’s Pixel range, and its standard camera range is continuously growing, offering a well-known brand image. The increased number of megapixels potentially combined in a multilens setup with other camera sensors that have other features could lead to improved cameras and photograph quality on future smartphones.

The cameras in smartphones have to operate in a small space as devices are getting thinner. Manufacturers are continuing to have to find new ways in which to provide improved performance in a smaller space. Sony’s new IMX586 camera sensor shows that this is still an important area of the smartphone market, and it is likely that other manufacturers will make smaller, more advanced cameras that smartphone vendors will add to their devices. With the smartphone market set to continue to see an increase in shipments—1.5 billion units are expected to ship in 2018, rising to 2 billion in 2027 (91.4% of which are expected to have rear dual cameras—an increase from 13.6% in 2018)—smartphone camera manufacturers need to be aware of the importance of providing high-quality cameras for these devices.

There are a number of factors that must be taken in to consideration when developing a camera for a smartphone. As mentioned above, size is very important, as only small sensors and cameras will be used by smartphone vendors that are continuously looking to making smaller, more user-friendly devices due to consumer demand. Despite this small size, these cameras need to have improved functionality, as more and more consumers are turning to their smartphones to take photographs rather than standard cameras. Smartphone cameras need to have a large MP to allow for a high quality photograph or video to be taken.

Other optional features must also be taken into account to allow the camera, and therefore the smartphone, to stand out from the crowd. Many smartphone vendors are offering devices with cameras that allow for fast focus, image stabilization, improved night photos, 4K videos, special effects, and more.

While developing an improved quality camera, it is vital to ensure that the camera’s smartphone will have the processing power and storage space available to handle the extra data. If a smartphone is not compatible with a high-quality camera, user uptake will fall as consumers turn to smartphones with lower quality cameras that fully function at all times.

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