If you often pay attention to the relevant content of our three easy lives, you may remember that we have always been relatively cautious about the "high pixel" camera design on smartphones.
For example, since 2019, when smartphones began to carry a large number of 48 million pixels and 64 million pixel solutions, we have criticized this design for not bringing about as much clarity improvement as it looks.
By 2020, when many flagship models began to use the main camera solution of 64 million or even 100 million pixels, we also reminded everyone of the significant shortcomings of this "big outsole high pixel" solution in terms of focus experience.
In fact, until now (the end of 2021), looking at the entire smartphone market, there are still few models that can achieve near-perfect outliner high-pixel models in terms of clarity, stabilization effect, focus speed, macro capability, full-pixel camera delay, etc.
Night sample shot with the iPhone 13 Pro Max 12-megapixel camera
On the other hand, although high-resolution mobile phone imaging solutions have appeared for more than 3 years, there are still some top flagship products in the market that insist on using the 12-megapixel "large bottom low pixel" design. In fact, their image performance is not bad, which also makes some consumers more insist on the "useless theory of high pixels of mobile phones".
However, in the recent period, there have been a series of breaking news that some models that have adhered to the "low pixel main camera" design in the past are likely to turn to the large outsole high-pixel solution in 2022. This means that the "12 million pixels" era, which is talked about by some users, may really become history.
Samsung, Apple, Sony to change the camera program, 48 million pixels to start
The first brand to be rumored to be turning to "high pixels" across the board was Samsung, which has been using two camera solutions on its flagship model since 2020. Its "Mid Cup" and "Big Cup" use a 12-megapixel, more focused outsole (1/1.7 inch) main camera, with a 64-megapixel sub-camera responsible for video shooting; while the "Oversized Cup" is exactly the opposite, using a 108-megapixel, main video shooting main camera, and equipped with multiple sub-camera schemes with lower pixels but strong focus performance, so as to achieve a balance between fast focus and 8K video shooting.
I have to say that this design is actually very practical, at least the macro performance is far better than the 2 million pixel "independent macro lens" on the market. However, according to the current breaking news, in the next generation of flagship products, Samsung will likely cancel the 12 million pixel main camera design, and use a new 50 million pixel CMOS with a larger size and stronger focus performance as the main camera scheme of "middle cup" and "large cup". Of course, if this news is true, then the 64-megapixel sub-camera is likely to be changed at the same time, after all, the new scheme no longer needs the sub-camera to act as a video shooting function.
Renderings of the iPhone 14 Pro
Immediately after Samsung, in September this year, well-known analyst Guo Mingji proposed for the first time in the report that the iPhone 14 Pro series will be replaced by a new high-pixel main camera. He even accurately "predicted" the iPhone 14 Pro's main camera sensor specifications, saying that it would be a custom solution with 48 million pixels and 1/1.33 inch.
If this prediction is accurate, then Apple's customized sensor will reach a single pixel size of 1.25μm, far more than the more common high-pixel sensors in the industry today (single pixel size 0.6-0.8μm). But considering that today's iPhone 13 series is equipped with a single pixel size of 1.8μm 1/1.7-inch 12 million pixel main camera, apple's custom high-pixel sensor will most likely also add pixel "four-in-one" mode, so as to exchange for 2.5μm equivalent super pixels, further increasing the sensitivity.
The last to be exposed was Sony. Although they just recently launched the Xperia PRO-I with a 12MP 1-inch outsole (actually cropped for 20 MEGAPI), according to breaking news, Sony's next-generation flagship Xepria 1 IV. will use a stunning rear quad full 48MP design.
Xepria 1 IV. Hypothetical diagram
Further, the CMOS specifications and pixel sizes actually used by these four cameras are different, and even the lowest one has a 1/2 outsole. And it is said that these four CMOS will all be based on Sony's self-developed solutions, and try not to use parts from other manufacturers. Judging from this point of view, if the "Sodafa" is not good, it is not certain what big move it is holding.
Why was 12MP abandoned? Because the conditions are ripe
As we all know, in the entire smartphone industry, Samsung and Sony have always been regarded as a relatively special existence, because they not only produce their own mobile phones, but also the main supplier of mobile phone image sensors (CMOS) in the entire industry. In this case, in the past, these two companies only sold high-pixel CMOS solutions, but they have always insisted on using the 12 million pixel main camera, which has indeed aroused the attention and discussion of many consumers.
So why are they now collectively switching to high-resolution CMOS solutions? First of all, from the perspective of the development process of CMOS technology itself, the early outsole high-pixel CMOS, as we said at the beginning of this article, was actually born after many sacrifices, compared with the previous top 12 million pixel CMOS, the continuous shooting ability is weaker, the focus performance is worse, and the photosensitive design is greatly reduced. In this case, Samsung, Sony, and Apple, which has always been rich and rely on custom parts, do not want to see such high-pixel solutions, which is actually a very normal thing.
But now the situation is different, whether it is Samsung's GN series, or Sony's IMX766, IMX789, these latest outsole high-pixel CMOS in the overall design concept, pixel size, and focal structure, etc., in fact, have perfectly inherited the technology of the top 12 million pixel solution, and even have further improvements. In this case, even if the manufacturers who are "aware" of the shortcomings of the early high-pixel CMOS, there is naturally no reason to reject these latest high-pixel flagship CMOS.
Secondly, the rapid advancement of smartphone SoC performance, or ISP performance, is also a crucial factor in driving the entire industry into the "era of high-pixel photography". You know, it is precisely because many flagship SoCs have certain deficiencies in ISP throughput, so it will lead to the vast majority of high-pixel models once the "high-pixel mode" is really turned on, the camera algorithm will be greatly simplified, and eventually the "high-pixel mode" image quality may not be as good as the default low-pixel mode results.
However, looking at the top smartphone SoCs just released this year, it is not difficult to find that whether it is the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 or the Tianji 9000, the 18-bit triple concurrent ISP they are equipped with has made sufficient preparations for the ultra-high-specification CMOS of more than 200 million pixels, and even the 30FPS multi-frame noise reduction synthesis of 108 million pixel main cameras in the "pixel full open" mode. In this case, high-pixel CMOS will not cause any pressure on the computing power, and manufacturers can finally adapt extremely complex camera algorithms on the super-low, ultra-high-pixel main camera, and truly play the advantage of high resolution.
Finally, what some friends may not have noticed is that with the Redmi K40 game enhanced version, vivo X70 Pro+, Sony Xperia PRO-I and other flagship models today's topic soaring, "high-quality optical lenses" have begun to be more and more concerned by mobile phone manufacturers and some users. In order to truly give full play to the analytical advantages of the outsole high-pixel CMOS, lenses with good enough light transmittance and distortion control are actually an indispensable part.
However, due to the high cost of truly advanced optical lenses, in the past, even if mobile phone manufacturers wanted to use it, they may also need to consider the problem of consumer acceptance, and the final result is often a compromise on materials and a decline in image quality. However, with the gradual maturity of the market atmosphere, including high-end optical designs such as Daliguang's 9P lens and AAC Technology's WRG (wafer-level glass) glass-plastic hybrid lens, there is also more room for market play. And this is likely to be the last piece of the puzzle that liberates the full potential of smartphones' "big bottom high pixels" and announces the end of the 12-megapixel era.
【The picture of this article comes from the network】