The megapixel race: Xiaomi vs. Realme
First it was 48, then 64 and now 108. The world of smartphones has megapixel fever. Thanks to new Samsung sensors, a struggle between the Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi and Realme has kicked off.
You might be wondering why you'd need a 48, 64, or 108-megapixel smartphone camera. Of course you don't – unless you want to print your photos onto a huge poster. That aside, a smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera doesn't generate images in this resolution by default anyway. The sensors use 0.8 micrometre pixels which are grouped together to achieve better light sensitivity and quality. For comparison: the length of an average human sperm's head is about 5 micrometres.
Which makes the actual resolution displayed by a 48-megapixel camera only 12 megapixels. That's 16 for a 64-megapixel camera and 27 for a 108-megapixel camera.
Who will make the first 64-megapixel camera?
In March 2018, Huawei introduced the P20 Pro, the first smartphone with 40 megapixels. In December and at the beginning of this year this was followed by various manufacturers announcing their intentions to create 48 megapixel smartphones. But apparently this is all already old news – in marketing terms at least. A few days ago Realme fired the first shot in «The War for 64», as I'm calling it. The Chinese company released pictures (in German) of the upcoming «Realme XT». There's also a video by an Indian Youtuber that gives us a first glimpse.
The 64-megapixel camera sensor called «GW1» is from Samsung. The same chip will also be used by Xiaomi. But in contrast to Realme, Xiaomi has also revealed some information about their upcoming smartphone, the «Redmi Note 8 Pro».
The Xiaomi: Redmi Note 8 Pro and other 108-megapixel smartphones
The popular Redmi-Note series is growing. In addition to the Samsung GW1 sensor, the device will have a 6.3-inch 1080p display and be powered by the Snapdragon 665. The back will include a fingerprint sensor and four cameras, one of which is equipped with the aforementioned 64 megapixels. It also has a 13-megapixel selfie camera and a 4000 mAh battery.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro will be first released in China before it continues to India and then the global market. The list price in Asia will be 1399 yuan (194 Swiss francs). Exact availability is still unknown. But thanks to another announcement from mid-August (in German), we know that a 108-megapixel smartphone from Xiaomi will soon follow. It should be able to record videos in 6K at 30 FPS in addition to taking great photos 12,032 x 9,024 pixels.
I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.