It will probably be a combination of both, though, and a welcome news for all Samsung fans who worry that a 200MP sensor presupposes tiny sub-micron pixels that will be too small to collect a proper amount of light.
When Samsung announced its 2022 200MP image sensor, the ISOCELL HP3, it said that the CIS “provides an ultimate low-light experience, with the Tetra2pixel technology that combines four pixels into one to transform the 0.56μm 200MP sensor into a 1.12μm 50MP sensor, or a 12.5MP sensor with 2.24μm-pixels by combining 16 pixels into one. The technology enables the sensor to simulate a large-sized pixel sensor to take brighter and more vibrant shots even in dimmed environments, like in-doors or during nighttime.”
That’s what may be going on with Samsung’s tailored image sensor that will reportedly end up in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, too, albeit on a grander scale as it will allegedly have larger, 0.64 micron pixels. In addition, the HP3 sensor offers upgraded HDR images via the Smart-ISO Pro option of Samsung. “The upgraded version of the technology comes with a triple ISO mode — Low, Mid and High — that further widens the sensor’s dynamic range,” says Samsung.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is not rumored to come with any zoom camera hardware upgrades, as the S22 Ultra already has best-in-class magnification abilities, but the main sensor will apparently compensate with remarkable resolution, optical image stabilization, and low-light photograph upgrades.
