Samsung just revealed a 200MP telephoto sensor, but Z Fold 6 buyers shouldn’t get too excited

Ahead of next week’s Unpacked, Samsung recently unveiled a new 200MP telephoto image sensor for smartphones with enhanced light absorption capabilities.

The Isocell HP9 packs 200 million 0.56-micrometer pixels into a 1/1.4-inch optical format. Samsung said it used a new material to make the high-refraction microlens on the sensor that increases its light-gathering ability by directing more light precisely to the corresponding RGB color filter.

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The sensor has been developed along the trend of premium smartphones using larger optical wide-angle formats for the main camera, meaning they have enough space to fit larger telephoto sensors, the company said.

The South Korean tech giant said this increased light sensitivity by 12% and autofocus contract performance by 10% compared to its predecessors.

The sensor shines in low-light conditions thanks to the company’s technology that groups 16 pixels into 12 MP. According to the company, 2.24 micrometer sensors to absorb light better for sharper portrait photos and “dramatic” out-of-focus bokeh effects.

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The sensor also offers 12x optical zoom when its 4x sensor zoom modules are paired with the 3x telephoto zoom module, which should deliver sharper images and less grain when cropping.

Along with the 200MP telephoto sensor, Samsung also unveiled two new 50MP image sensors, the Isocell GNJ and the Isocell JN5.

According to the company, the Isocell GNJ is a dual-pixel sensor with 50 million pixels of 1 micrometer size in a 1/1.57-inch optical format. It’s called dual pixel because each pixel contains two photodiodes for faster and more accurate autofocus. It also uses Samsung’s new microlenses for better light absorption. Pixels are also better isolated from each other to minimize crosstalk, allowing for more accurate images.

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The Isocell JN5 has 50 million 0.64-micrometer-sized pixels in a 1/2.76-inch optical format, Samsung said. The sensor has a dual vertical transfer gate technology that increases charge transfer within pixels for reduced noise and clearer images in low-light conditions. It has the obligatory phase detection technology and extended high dynamic range. It is an all-in-one sensor that can be used on the main and sub-cameras for wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle and telephoto.

It’s worth noting that while these sensors may eventually come to mainstream smartphones, it’s likely to be another year or two before they happen, meaning future Galaxy foldable phones won’t get the camera upgrades that Samsung is promoting.