Your third eye on the world: The evolution of smartphone cameras

The smartphone technology war has entered a new phase. Rather than competing in terms of operating speed and design, smartphone manufacturers are turning their eyes toward better cameras. As a result of this competition, we are seeing more and more ‘multi-camera’ phones featuring dual, triple, and even hexa-camera setups, and even smartphone cameras rivaling DSLR units. Six cameras on a phone? ‘Multi-camera’ setups

At minimum, the smartphones we use are equipped with two cameras. The multi-camera trend is spreading fast, even among entry-level smartphone units, and we are seeing phones with ever greater numbers of cameras. Forget about dual or triple camera setups– penta-camera units with two selfie cameras and three separate rear-facing cameras each are now commonplace. Samsung Electronics’ recently launched ‘Galaxy S10 5G’ model comes with six; two forward-facing units and four rear-facing. But why do smartphones need so many cameras, anyway? Smartphone cameras are limited to the space inside a smartphone, and are subject to size restrictions unlike ordinary standalone cameras. Plus, swapping out those tiny lenses according to need is out of the question. To overcome these limitations, multiple camera units each with a dedicated function are installed on today’s smartphones, providing performance not far behind real DSLR cameras. Telephoto lenses: DSLR-level optical zoom from your smartphone

With the mobile processors in our smartphones now powerful enough to control multiple camera lenses simultaneously, the industry has started turning its attention to ‘telephoto lenses’. Telephoto lenses support optical zoom, a function usually found in DSLR cameras where physical lenses are adjusted to make a subject appear larger or smaller. The incorporation of high-performance telephoto lenses into smartphones allows users to snap crisp, high-resolution images of distant objects. Hide the selfie camera! ‘Under-panel cameras’

▲ Smartphone display trends From ultra-thin bezels to notches, and now holes The selfie cameras on our smartphones are occupying increasing less screen real estate.

Smartphone designs where the entire front face is occupied solely by the display are now commonplace. Smartphone manufacturers are now competing to completely hide the home button and front-facing cameras from sight. In other words, the race is on to create a 100% bezel-less screen. There are a number of ways used to hide front-facing cameras. Some manufacturers have opted for ‘pop-up’ cameras which are retracted into the phone and pop up only when needed, while others have gone with ‘side-sliding’ cameras which slide out of the side of your phone. Still others have introduced ‘dual display’ phones with a secondary display on the rear of each smartphone unit so that the rear-facing lenses cameras can double as selfie cameras when needed. Consumers want ever-larger displays, and accordingly the industry is reducing the real estate occupied by cameras in smartphones. In addition to narrower bezels, some makers have opted for small notches to house camera lenses. Recent smartphones simply have a small camera hole punched right into the display. We already have ‘under panel’ home buttons and fingerprint sensors mounted beneath displays; in the future, we expect to see ‘under-panel cameras’ completely hidden from view underneath the display panel. Mounting high-performance cameras in limited space requires highly advanced mobile image sensor technology. Image sensor technology is making great strides forward, providing brighter, crisper, higher-resolution and high-sensitivity images through tiny lenses and ultra-fine pixels. Samsung Electronics image sensor solutions evolve according to the latest camera trends

▲ Samsung Electronics’ ISOCELL Bright GW1(left) and GM2(right)

With smartphone cameras evolving toward high performance able to take the place of DSLR units, the importance of ultra-fine pixels is growing. Ultra-fine images allow high-resolution images to be captured using small chips. In keeping with this trend, Samsung Electronics unveiled the ultra-small, high-resolution ‘ISOCELL Bright GW1’ and ‘GM2’ image sensors in May. The ‘ISOCELL Bright GW1’ and ‘GM2’ feature ‘0.8㎛ (micrometer)’ pixels, the smallest in Samsung Electronics’ image sensor lineup. They are capable of 64 million and 48 million pixel images, all from an image sensor smaller than a fingernail. Having a 64-million pixel ultra high-resolution image sensor means clear images without resolution loss even in zoom mode, and Tetrapixel technology produces clear photographs even in low light settings. The Samsung Electronics DS Division is achieving breakthrough after breakthrough in the area of image sensors, which are an essential component of smartphone cameras. In addition to DSLR camera-standard images in smartphones, we are committed to realizing ‘as the eyes see’ images. More Related Content Samsung Electronics unveils industry-first 64 million pixel mobile image sensor [Infographic] Innovative technologies in Samsung Electronics’ image sensor solutions The Samsung Electronics DS Division is achieving breakthrough after breakthrough in the area of image sensors, which are an essential component of smartphone cameras. In addition to DSLR camera-standard images in smartphones, we are committed to realizing ‘as the eyes see’ images. _{* Technological term of 'Tetrapixel' was updated in July 2022}