A 200MP main camera is the crown jewel of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera arsenal, and has been a feature of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S Ultra line since the S23 Ultra arrived in 2023. Since then, the likes of Xiaomi, Motorola and Honor have all embraced the high-megapixel count for their flagship phones, and it looks like Sony could soon be joining in too.
That’s according to the prolific leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, who writes that “a Sony 200MP main camera has been tested at the end of the year.”
In a follow-up post, the leaker adds that it will be “a little bigger” than the 1/1.3 inch ISOCELL HP2 200MP sensor made by Samsung. A larger sensor means more light intake, which in turn theoretically leads to cleaner, sharper images, especially in low-light conditions.
Smartphone buyers have become understandably skeptical of the common wisdom that a higher megapixel count directly leads to better snaps. But while it’s true to say that there’s a lot more to picture quality than the number of megapixels, high-resolution cameras have become increasingly important on phones in recent years.
As well as opening up higher-res standard photos, these sensors improve a phone's medium-distance photography. A 200MP image can be cropped to a lower resolution, giving the illusion of a zoomed photo from a telephoto lens.
A sensor for Sony or for its rivals?
Given so many Android phones use Sony camera tech, it's not a given that Sony is experimenting with this alleged 200MP sensor for use on its own phones.
While its more recent Xperia 1 VI was excellent for budding photographers, the only rumor we’ve seen about the upcoming Xperia 1 VII is that it’ll be an incremental update with only a minor camera sensor change anticipated. There's currently no sign of Sony swapping out the current 50MP main camera for something with more megapixels.
That would be disappointing, but not hugely surprising. Despite having an enviable reputation in the worlds of photography, television screens, gaming and audio — all things that should be helpful when building a smartphone — Sony’s Xperia Android handsets have failed to set the world alight for whatever reason. It reportedly has less than 1% of the global smartphone market, and even in its home country of Japan, the brand saw a 40% decrease in sales in 2023.
Sony’s loss could be its rivals' gain. If the 200MP sensor lives up to its potential, and the company is open to providing it to other manufacturers, our list of the best camera phones could soon get a lot more interesting.
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