Samsung is reportedly developing an image sensor for future iPhone series, according to an Apple tipster. The iPhone maker currently relies solely on Sony for all the camera sensors and it was reported last year by Yahoo Tech that upcoming iPhones could feature Samsung camera sensors.
The camera sensor being designed by Samsung reportedly has a PD-TR-Logic configuration. The configuration would be a 3-layer design consisting of the following:
a.) Photodiode layer (PD) – part of the sensor responsible for light gathering
b.) Transfer layer (TR) – part of the sensor responsible for noise reduction
c.) Logic layer – part of the sensor responsible for communicating with iPhone’s computational photography aspects
The rumours suggest that the Samsung image sensors for the iPhone would be much more advanced compared to the current Sony sensors. Additionally, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Samsung sensor would be a 48MP ½.6” chip powering the iPhone 18’s main wide-camera sensor.
The iPhone 18 will likely release in September 2026, if the recent iPhones release schedule is taken into consideration.
Samsung working on a 500MP super camera sensor
The tipster goes on to add that Samsung is working on a 500 megapixel camera sensor. The high megapixel i.e., the 500MP sensor would be for Samsung’s own Galaxy smartphone. Apple could likely pick up the sensors in the future as well. However, the iPhone maker is slow in adopting newer or high megapixel camera sensor, rather focusing on improving the existing sensor through minor hardware and software updates. The minor updates usually result into sharper and brighter images.
The 500MP Samsung camera sensor if and when launched could be the first in the industry with the highest megapixel count. Unless of course, not if competitors beat Samsung with earlier releases. Further, it is important to note that 500MP photos will likely pixel-bin to around 13.9MP photos.
