This is Samsung’s new camera for punch-hole displays

Before the Galaxy S10 is announced next month with an Infinity-O display, Samsung has just revealed details of its new camera sensor. The new Isocell Slim 3T2 is the South Korean brand’s smallest 20MP camera module and it is designed for the next generation of smartphones.

The new image sensor is tiny at 1/3.4” and it captures images at 20MP resolution with a pixel size of 0.8-micron. According to Samsung, this is the smallest high-resolution sensor and it measures 5.1mm diagonally.

The new module aims to cater for the latest smartphone display features with “hole-in display” or “notch design”. The sensor promises to offer high colour fidelity using Samsung’s Isocell Plus technology. This allows the camera to capture and absorb more light. Despite its small sensor, the Isocell Slim 3T2 can improve its low-light capability by increasing its pixel size to 1.6-micron to produce a more detailed 5MP image.

When used as a rear camera, the 3T2 sensor adopts an RGB colour filter array instead of a Tetracell technology. It can be utilised for telephoto camera as the module is 7% smaller than Samsung’s own 1/3” 20MP camera. Compared to a 13MP sensor that has the same thickness, the 20MP 3T2 offers 60% higher effective resolution at 10x digital zoom.

According to Samsung, the new slim Isocell 3T2 camera module is expected to be in mass production in the first quarter of 2019. While they did mention that it’s designed for mid-range smartphone, there’s a possibility that it could be utilised on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 for its selfie camera.

Apart from Samsung, other smartphone brands such as Huawei and Honor has introduced their own in-screen camera solution. On the latest View20 flagship device, the cut-out-hole for the camera is 4.5mm in diameter while the customised camera lens is 3.05mm. Punch-hole displays are currently seen as the best way to solve the selfie camera conundrum without having to implement complicated sliders and pop-up camera mechanisms.

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