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Samsung’s new 50-megapixel JN1 sensor has the smallest pixels in the world

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When it comes to smartphone camera sensors, there are only really two big players. Sony and Samsung. And while Sony might be selling more units, Samsung always seems to be pushing things that little bit further. Or, in this case, smaller. Samsung has announced its new 50-megapixel ISOCELL 2.0 JN1 sensor, boasting smaller pixels than even its 108-megapixel flagship smartphone sensor.

This tiny 1/2.8-inch chip has a pixel pitch of only 0.64μm compared to the slightly larger 0.7μm pixel pitch of Samsung’s ISOCELL HM2 108-megapixel 1/1.52-inch sensor. Yet they still manage to pack in their Smart-ISO tech along with the “Double Super PDAF” autofocus system. And it sounds like it’s basically just a drop-in replacement for existing 1/2.8″ devices.

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Samsung lets us look behind the curtain at their “pro-grade” ISOCELL HM3 smartphone camera sensor tech

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Announced in mid-January, Samsung’s ISOCELL HM3 108-megapixel sensor was both a “wow!” and a “wtf?” moment for smartphone cameras. It’s an insane resolution for a smartphone, based on the raw pixel count alone, but it offers a lot of potential advantages for computational photography.

It’s only been released in the Samsung Galaxy S21 ultra so far, and it’s not yet made it into any other brand’s smartphones (but there are likely a few on the way). But Samsung has released a video “introducing” the sensor (4 months after its release) going into detail about how the sensor actually works.

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Samsung sued over “shattering” cameras in the Galaxy S20

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It appears Samsung is having exploding phone issues again, although it’s not the battery this time, but the camera. US-based attorneys at Hagens Berman have filed a class-action lawsuit against Samsung over defective Samsung Galaxy S20 devices that experience the camera glass shattering unexpectedly during what they describe as normal use.

The lawsuit was filed on April 27th in the US District Court of the District of New Jersey and accuses Samsung of fraud, breach of warranty and violations of a number of consumer-protection laws. They say that the “professional” camera in the device has a defect affecting its glass covering, causing it to shatter randomly with no external force applied, even when in a protective case.

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Rumour: Samsung teaming up with Olympus for future smartphone cameras

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Well, if this ain’t just the weirdest thing I’ve heard this year. Apparently, Samsung is teaming up with Olympus (?!?) to collaborate on the smartphone modules for future Samsung smartphone, possibly including the Fold 3. At least, according to “tipster” heyitsyogesh on Twitter and “confirmed” by Ice Universe on Weibo.

The general idea doesn’t seem that crazy. After all, we’ve seen smartphone manufacturers team up with Leica, Hasselblad and Zeiss. But Olympus? When Olympus doesn’t technically even make cameras anymore? Responding to that query, heyitsyogesh confirmed to DIYP that it is indeed OM Digital that the collaboration is with, but that it will use Olympus branding – which sounds even stranger.

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Smartphones with a new 200-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL sensor reported to be coming soon

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According to a report on GizChina, Samsung is gearing up to launch “many innovative sensors” during the course of 2021, including a new 200(ish)-megapixel sensor intended for smartphone use. The information was posted originally by Twitter use Ice universe, who has been known for posting reliable information in the past when it comes to smartphone tech and smartphone camera sensors.

It’s been suggested that the 200-megapixel sensor will actually be 216-megapixels, given that the current model 108-megapixel sensor is often referred to as simply 100-megapixels. And then there’s that 600-megapixel smartphone sensor Samsung has already confirmed they’re working on.

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This drive holds 2 Terabytes and it’s the size of a credit card

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I remember when my office had a 10-Megabytes drive (Mega, with an M). It was (give or take) the size and weight of a car tire. A few weeks ago, I got the T7 SSD from Samsung. It is two Terabytes big and the size of a credit card. I feel old.

Not only does this drive boasts an impressive 2TB storage, but it also claims to run at read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and writes at speeds up to 1,000 MB/s.  This is quite impressive, so, of course, we had to put it to the test.

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Samsung spending over $800 million to ramp up image sensor production

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Samsung is reportedly ramping up its image sensor production capabilities in a big way, although it’s doing it at the expense of RAM production – again. The process began in 2018 when Samsung converted its DRAM-producing Line 11 plant to make image sensors instead. At that time, they also announced their intention to convert Line 13 to do the same.

The conversion of Line 13 was expected towards the end of 2018, but it seems to have not happened yet. Business Korea reports that the plan is now going ahead, though, at a cost of 1 trillion Korean won (₩) or around US$815 million. Which, apparently, is actually cheaper than building a whole new factory.

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Some users report Galaxy S20 camera glass is breaking for no apparent reason

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The new Samsung Galaxy S20 comes with great camera capabilities. However, what doesn’t seem to be so great is the build of the glass that covers it. Over the past two months, a number of users have complained that the camera glass is too brittle and shatters for no apparent reason.

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DxOMark tests show problems with Samsung S20 Ultra cameras that software updates won’t fix

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DxOMark recently tested the cameras in the new Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Overall it did quite well, scoring 122, although they uncovered some fatal flaws that Samsung likely won’t be able to fix with mere software updates. They say it has the worst low-light autofocus performance of its competitors and the “100x Space Zoom” ability shows poor performance and detail.

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