MIUI Camera app confirms Xiaomi is working on a phone with a 64MP camera

Xiaomi and its spin-off brand Redmi have gained the reputation of selling well-specced smartphones at compelling prices. In the past, the company has jumpstarted several trends by bringing flagship-grade specs to the mid-range segment. For instance, the Redmi Note 7 Pro (review) comes with the same 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor as the OnePlus 7 Pro (review) and the ASUS ZenFone 6, both of which are priced more than twice the Note 7 Pro. Now, Xiaomi is preparing another surprise for the industry and can be expected to release a smartphone with a 64MP camera setup.

The reference for a 64MP “ultra-pixel” mode was spotted in the MIUI Camera app by XDA Member kackskrz in the latest MIUI 10 (ver. 9.6.17) China Developer ROM for the Redmi K20 Pro. The strings cited by the developer also correspond to a default text, “64MP DUAL CAMERA,” for the watermark on images.

<string name="ultra_pixel_photography_64mp_open_tip">6400万超清</string>
<string name="ultra_pixel_photography_64mp_close_tip">6400万超清已关闭</string>
<string name="accessibility_ultra_pixel_photography_64mp_on">6400万超清,开启状态</string>
<string name="accessibility_ultra_pixel_photography_64mp_off">6400万超清,关闭状态</string>
<string name="pref_menu_ultra_pixel_photography_64mp">6400万超清</string>
<string name="device_64m_watermark_default_text">64MP DUAL CAMERA</string>

At present, Samsung 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 is the only sensor with a 64MP resolution available in the market, so we expect Xiaomi to deploy this sensor on the smartphone. The ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor features pixels of 0.8μm size and supports 4-in-1 Tetracell technology, which is Samsung’s fancy moniker for pixel binning. The pixel binning feature will allow 64MP images to be condensed in 16MP shots for sufficient day-time lighting and impressive low-light performance. Meanwhile, users should also have the ability to take 64MP pictures in the Pro mode.

Additionally, Samsung claims that this sensor supports up to 100dB of real-time HDR, which is 66% higher than the convention 60dB HDR on other devices.  In practice, we may see some stunningly high dynamic range and contrast in images clicked from this sensor.

This insight from kackskrz also affirms a recent rumor from the leaker, Ice Universe, in which they claim that Redmi is working on a “mysterious” smartphone which will feature the 64MP Samsung GW1 sensor. Further, Ice noted that the alleged Redmi smartphone will be the first device in China to come with this sensor.

Competing with the Redmi smartphone for the pole position is the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A70s which is has been speculated to feature the sensor, as well. Notably, Samsung will not be bringing this sensor to the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 series so can assume that it might be limited to the mid-range smartphones.

It will be interesting to see the 64MP sensor in action and we do not wish to wait too long before it becomes a reality. We’ll update you as we learn more about in this context.