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Sony has officially confirmed that the IMX686 camera sensor is coming. The company did that by releasing a teaser video on Weibo (Chinese social network).
This teaser video does not exactly share any features of the Sony IMX686 sensor. It shares a number of camera samples taken with this sensor, but it does not share any actual specifications.
These Sony IMX686 camera samples have been taken in different lighting conditions
These camera samples have been taken in different lighting conditions, however, so you’ll get the general idea as to what to expect. Each company that ends up using this sensor will adapt it to its phones, so the results will most certainly differ. There are also software optimizations to think of.
The camera samples Sony provided have not been taken with a smartphone. The company used a prototype board and a PC in order to capture these. Sony also hasn’t shared full-resolution samples.
The caption for this video reveals that the sensor will be released next year. Having that in mind, this will probably be the most-utilized camera sensor next year, at least as more powerful mid-range, and flagship phones are concerned.
A ton of smartphone manufacturers used the Sony IMX586 this year. That is the 48-megapixel camera sensor that was utilized by OnePlus several times, and by a ton of other companies out there.
We don’t know how many megapixels will the Sony IMX686 deliver, though. Sony may opt to stick with 48, or up that a bit. In any case, we’re expecting this to be at least a 48-megapixel sensor, and to use pixel binning like its predecessor.
This sensor will probably be used by many smartphone manufacturers in 2020
This sensor will almost certainly be used by OnePlus yet again, and many other companies such as Huawei, OPPO, Vivo… and so on. We’re only guessing, though, of course.
Sony will hopefully release some more info about this sensor in the near future. We’re also expecting its specification to surface before it launches.
This sensor will arrive next year, as previously stated, but it’s expected to come in early 2020. In other words, Sony will almost certainly announce this sensor in the first quarter of the year, maybe even as soon as January.
Various different companies need time to adapt that new sensor to their phones, which is why Sony will aim to release it that soon.
The Sony IMX586 is quite a powerful camera sensor for smartphones. We’re expecting much more from the IMX686, though, mainly because cameras on flagship smartphones spoiled us in 2019.