Samsung has revealed the smallest camera sensor for smartphones yet – the Isocell Slim 3T2. This new sensor is made especially for the new Punch-hole cameras as claimed by the company.
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The new Isocell Slim 3T2 is based on Samsung’s Isocell Plus technology. It features a 20 MP resolution on a tiny 1/3.4″ form factor. This makes it the smallest camera sensor at present in the market. The sensor has a 0.8-micrometer pixel size and includes Tetracell pixel binning technology – that combines more pixels into one for better low light images and such. The same kind of technology is being used in the Samsung GM1 sensor that is found in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. This technology is how smartphones can equip large 48 MP cameras on them even if their processors cannot process such large images. However, the Slim 3T2 sensor is different from the GM1 in the sense that when there is not much light, it can act like a regular 5 MP sensor with 1.6-micrometer pixels.
This new sensor is also capable of functioning as a main camera for telephoto purposes. To do so, it uses a standard RGB color filter rather than the Tetracell array. This reduces the pixels height further by about 7%. But still manages to yield 60% more effective resolution at 10X digital zoom compared to a standard 13 MP camera.
All of these functionalities make the camera suitable for a wide range of applications. But for now, Samsung seems content advertising it as the best suitable camera for punch-hole displays and notches. Because, of course, it is the smallest camera sensor as claimed by the company. We probably will see this camera in other usage scenarios, too, when it does come out. It is soon to go into production by the first quarter of 2019.
So, yes, we will not be able to see this camera on the Galaxy S10 or S10 series. But it is very likely to make its presence in other phones to come out later this year.
