Samsung prides itself on being the first company to launch a 200MP camera sensor for a smartphone in 2021. The Galaxy S23 Ultra became the first Samsung to adopt this camera technology. Years have passed and Sony has launched its own sensor to rival that of Samsung. It seems to be a powerful 200MP sensor with upgrades from Samsung’s camera sensor. It doesn’t seem like Samsung is ready to adopt this advanced camera for its future flagships.
The new Sony 200MP LYT-901 sensor is 1/1.12-inch large with 0.7μm pixels. It comes with Quad-Quad Bayer coding, 16-in-1 pixel binning, and AI remosaicing to deliver clearer shots in poor lighting. The Sony sensor is also in mass production and is expected to appear in some 2026 flagship phones.
According to previous leaks by Ice Universe, Galaxy S27 Ultra might ditch Samsung’s in-house ISOCELL lineup and adopt Sony’s 200MP 1/1.1-inch sensor instead, with a high-resolution unit. Ever since the 1/1.3-inch 200MP sensor launched with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung has been using the same camera specs for its Ultra models.
UniverseIce now claims Samsung will stick to its usual 200MP ISOCELL sensor for the Galaxy 27 Ultra instead, probably because of cost and supply chain concerns. From the look of things, the Galaxy S28 Ultra and S29 Ultra might also have the same camera hardware.
Samsung recently launched the 200MP ISOCELL HP5 with its tiny 0.5-micron pixels. With smaller pixels comes lower image quality. It doesn’t stand a chance against Sony’s new sensor. As more Android brands make the switch to Sony’s advanced camera hardware for their high-end devices, Samsung might be forced to adjust its hardware to keep up with the pace.
