The Galaxy S26 series will go official in a few months. While Samsung is yet to start teasing the new phones, it has been dropping details which very much indicate new hardware capabilities for the upcoming smartphones. Now, the brand has unveiled a new camera sensor, which could very well make its way via the flagship phones.
Samsung's new camera sensor brings Global Shutter capability to smartphones
In a report to South Korean media Sisa Journal, Samsung has officially confirmed that it has been able to develop a new camera sensor which can capture images using Global Shutter technology. This makes this the only smartphone camera sensor in existence to have achieved this feat.
For those unaware, every smartphone in the market currently uses a Rolling Shutter. This is because of firstly the sensor size limitation and secondly the lack of a dedicated large pixel. So, by using a rolling shutter, smartphones can output high-res images without needing to change the camera architecture altogether. However, it causes noticeable shutter lags and image distortions, even in high-end phones.
This is where the Global Shutter steps in. It eliminates all the limitations of a Rolling Shutter and is much more dynamic in terms of use cases. This is why premium mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R5 and the Sony Alpha a9 III use Global Shutter.
So, to introduce Global Shutter to smartphone cameras, Samsung has introduced a new redesigned pixel structure with a 1.5-micrometre pixel pitch and a 12 MP lens. This has helped the brand embed the ADC (analog-to-digital converter) directly into the camera sensor, enabling faster data conversion time. With this setup, the camera sensor can share one ADC for four pixels, which will use Rolling Shutter for its 2x2 pixels and the rest will operate on Global Shutter.
However, this new sensor will not arrive as part of the main camera module. Since it is currently based on 12 MP resolution, the most likely contender will be the ultra-wide camera on the standard and "Plus" models and the ultra-wide and telephoto module on the "Ultra" variant.
That said, the publication has mentioned that an official Samsung spokesperson has revealed that the new sensor will be used inside Samsung's "next-generation flagship smartphones". This makes the upcoming Galaxy S26 series the most likely contender.
