Sony working on a 100MP image sensor for mid-range smartphones – Times of India

Sony is developing a new image sensor – a 100MP sensor – for smartphones – a first from the company. A 100MP sensor is nothing new for a smartphone, but one from Sony is something new to look for as the smartphones are heavily dominated by the sensors made by Samsung, especially in the mid-range segment.
The only two 100MP – or more – sensors in the market are from Samsung – the HMX and HM2 – mostly seen on the smartphones in the mid-range segment. The majority of smartphones in the segment have also opted for Samsung’s 50MP JN1 or GN5 sensor. However, with Sony’s alleged 100MP sensor, things could change in the future.
According to a recent post by tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Sony is working on a new 100MP CMOS sensor that will be seen on upcoming mid-range smartphones, rivalling Samsung’s 108MP HM2 sensor. The tipster suggests that the said sensor will be a part of Sony’s IMX8 smartphone sensors.
Moreover, Sony is also working on a new IMX9 series large-sized sensor. As per the tipster, the upcoming IMX9 series sensor would take on Samsung’s 50MP GN2 sensor, which debuted last year with Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra. Earlier rumours have suggested that a new 50MP Sony image sensor dubbed IMX989 is said to debut with the upcoming Xiaomi 12 Ultra. The tipster also suggests that the sensor would be near 1-inch in size.
Meanwhile, Samsung is also working on a 200MP sensor, which is confirmed to come out with the Motorola Frontier. Also, there is an upgraded 200MP ISOCELL HP3 sensor under development at Samsung that could debut next year with the Galaxy S23 series, and it is rumoured to be larger than 1/1.12-inch in size, which means it would be bigger than the GN2 sensor.