MARCH 27 — We’ve already seen the Xiaomi 12 series launch both in China and globally too, but there was curiously no Xiaomi 12 Ultra this time round. It’s a little surprising, considering how powerful the previous Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra was especially in the camera department. Well, it seems as though the Chinese giant could be waiting on Sony, whose upcoming new sensor has just been leaked.

According to serial leakster Digital Chat Station, Sony’s upcoming sensor will be called the Exmor IMX800. It will be a 50MP sensor that measures an absolutely massive 1/1.1-inches in size. Xiaomi is allegedly looking to use this Exmor IMX800 sensor in the Xiaomi 12 Ultra’s main camera. In comparison, the Samsung GN2 sensor that Xiaomi used in the Mi 11 Ultra was a 50MP sensor with a 1/1.12-inch sensor. If this claim is true, it would become the largest smartphone sensor on the market.

However, the Exmor IMX 800 wouldn’t be the largest ever sensor used in a smartphone. Just last year, we saw Sony themselves launch the Sony Xperia Pro-I, which packed a 1-inch sensor behind its 12MP, f/2.0-4.0 main camera, which also uses a Zeiss Tessar 24mm lens. That being said, it isn’t technically using a ‘smartphone’ sensor, as it actually uses the same 1-inch sensor from their popular Sony RX100 VII compact point and shoot digital camera. This comes with some compromises, such as the lens itself unable to make use of the large sensor, leading to ‘cropped’ shots as the lens only projects onto an area equivalent to a 1/1.31-inch sensor. There was the Japan-only Sharp Aquos R6 too, which again uses a 1-inch sensor derived from Sony’s RX100 compact cameras. That device was later rebadged by Leica into their first ever smartphone, the Leica Leitz Phone 1.

As for the Xiaomi 12 Ultra itself, it’s expected to come with a triple camera setup using that 50MP Sony Exmor IMX800 sensor flanked by a further two other 48MP cameras. One thing’s for sure though which is that it likely won’t be cheap at all. Last year’s Mi 11 Ultra for instance launched in China at CNY5,999 before later being launched in Malaysia for RM4,299. If you don’t want to wait for the Xiaomi 12 Ultra though, you can check out more about the Xiaomi 12 series in general here. — soyacincau