Sony may be releasing a 1/1.33-inch size sensor with up to 108 million pixels for mobile devices, according to a report from Sony Alpha Rumors.
This move is seen as an attempt to regain market share from Samsung, which has dominated the high-pixel sensors market. Samsung currently offers sensors with pixel specifications of over 100 million pixels and has even expanded the specifications to 200 million pixels.
Sony has been known for its dominance in sensor applications in the smartphone market and the market position of sensor applications in smart vehicles and automation applications. The company is expected to further strengthen its market position with this move.
Sony announced in 2021 that it would release a 100 million 8-megapixel sensor, “IMX802”, using two-layer transistor technology. This technology separates the photoelectric diode and pixel transistor and restacks them to double the saturation signal amount, reduce the noise generation rate, and improve the dynamic range performance. This results in improved image performance in nighttime shooting and highly reflective environments.
According to the report, Sony’s sensor will support 9-in-1 pixel merging and can shoot at 12MP in general and 108MP for specific needs. However, the 1/1.33 inch sensor size suggests it is not aimed at flagship products but rather mid-range positioning mobile phones, computer vision and image recognition applications, security surveillance equipment, and smart vehicle designs. The two-layer transistor structure will also improve image performance in these applications.
This move by Sony is seen as an attempt to regain its dominance in the high-pixel sensor market and to further strengthen its market position in various sensor applications. It remains to be seen how this move will impact the market and how other companies will respond.
