Realme showcases 64-megapixel camera tech for smartphones

Realme claims it will be the first smartphone brand in India to offer 64-megapixel camera phone.

Realme’s 64-megapixel camera phone. (HT Photo)

With 48-megapixel camera increasingly becoming a standard affair on modern mid-range and premium phones, companies are scrambling to offer something new. The next stop is the 64-megapixel camera. Realme on Thursday unveiled a 64-megapixel camera technology which it plans to incorporate in its future smartphones, probably Realme 5 or Realme XI.

The first 64-megapixel camera Realme phone will launch before Diwali. The company said it'll launch as many as three new phones with the camera. Realme added it'll upgrade all of its smartphones with quad camera setup. This includes the latest Realme X. The quad camera setup will come with all major functionalities such as ultra wide view, telephoto, and ultra resolution.

Realme's 64-megapixel camera technology is based on Samsung's GW1 sensor. Launched in May earlier this year, the Samsung sensor supports real-time HDR of up to 100-decibles for more detailed colours. Users can expect brighter lowlight images and better results in daylight conditions.

"GW1 is equipped with a Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) that converts the received light into an electric signal according to the illumination of the environment. This allows the sensor to optimize its full well capacity (FWC), utilizing the collected light more efficiently especially in bright environments," Samsung had explained on its website.

 

With the 64MP super-big sensor, a single pixel can reach 1.6 μm in size in the 4-in-1 mode to offer more light & shooting options in the Ultra Nightscape mode.#LeapToQuadCamera pic.twitter.com/TwPKtpu8iD

— realme (@realmemobiles) August 8, 2019

Realme's latest announcement comes shortly after Xiaomi's Redmi introduced 64-megapixel camera technology. Based on Samsung's ISOCELL Bright GW1 image sensor, Xiaomi's camera tech is promised to deliver better results in lowlight conditions and crisper details in brighter settings. Xiaomi's 64MP camera will render 9248×6936 pixel resolution photos.

"Our all-new 64MP camera sensor packs in 38% more pixels than a 48MP camera. Soon you'll be able to click photos that are brighter, vibrant and more detailed than ever before," said Xiaomi.

What's next: 100MP cameras

Even as we're yet to have a single smartphone with a 64-megapixel camera, Xiaomi has already announced plans to launch a 100MP camera phone in the future.

"Photographers can not only take more detailed photos but also make better use of their imagination and creativity with this sensor. The 100MP ultra-high-resolution camera sensor even maintains a high-quality picture of 27MP in 2x zoom - more than doubling the pixels of a standard 12MP telephoto camera," said Xiaomi in a blog post.

Interestingly enough, Samsung, which is supplying these camera chips, hasn't yet announced any phone with a 64-megapixel camera.