Xiaomi Is Launching A 108MP Phone Camera Outside China, Will Samsung Be Next?
On Tuesday, Xiaomi unveiled the world's first smartphone with a 108-megapixel rear camera sensor, the Mi CC9 Pro. Unfortunately, that handset is only bound for China, so users in other parts of the world would have to miss out on all those megapixels. Or so it seemed. Now a day later, Xiaomi has unveiled a version of the CC9 Pro that will ship outside of China.
The new Mi Note 10 offers the same 108-megapixel shooter as the CC9 Pro, and it launched in Spain today. Specs are mostly the same across the board, and for good reason—the Mi Note 10 is basically the global version of the CC9 Pro, which notably includes five rear cameras. They consist of the following...
- 108MP ultra-high resolution: 1/1.33-inch super sensor, 7P lens, f/1.69, 4-axis OIS
- 5MP telephoto: 10x hybrid zoom, 50x digital zoom, f/2.0, OIS
- 12MP portrait: 2x optical zoom, 1.4μm, ƒ/2.0, dual pixel autofocus
- 20MP ultra-wide angle: FOV 117 degrees, f/2.2
- 2MP macro: macro zoom shooting
On paper, it is quite the camera array. And on the front of the phone, there is a 32-megapixel shooter (f/2.0) for snapping selfies.
The 108-megapixel sensor is the one Samsung announced in August. At the time, Samsung said Xiaomi would be the first to implement it. If you count the CC9 Pro and Mi Note 10 as separate representations, than Xiaomi is the first and second. It seems only a matter of time before Samsung uses its own sensor, though, and rumor has it the 108-megapixel shooter is bound for the Galaxy S11.
Cameras aside, the Mi Note 10 features a 6.47-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2340x1440 resolution, 600 nits maximum brightness, HDR support, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. This is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor and 6GB of RAM. It also has 128GB of onboard storage, a 5,260mAh battery, a USB-C port, and a headphone jack.
Those specs leave the door open for Samsung (and others) to offer a more powerful and fleshed out flagship phone with a 108-megapixel sensor. Pricing will undoubtedly be higher on the Galaxy S11 and similar handsets, though—the Mi Note 10 carries an MSRP of 549 euros, which works out to around $608 in US currency.
