Sony announces camera sensor coming in Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera phone

Sony has announced the IMX858 sensor, a camera sensor for phones. Xiaomi is using three of those sensors in the upcoming 13 Ultra phone. Only the main camera has a different sensor.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra teaser

The IMX858 is a 50-megapixel sensor with a surface area of ​​around 20 square millimeters and an optical size of 1/2.51″. The pixels are around 0.6 microns in size. According to Sony, it is suitable as a secondary sensor in telephones, because it can be matched exactly with a primary camera sensor. Because the colors and white balance can then be matched, users will notice less of the need to switch between cameras than is currently the case.

It is a Lytia sensor with separated pixel layers. The sensors differ from current models because the transistors and photodiodes have been separated from each other for the first time in the pixel layer. This makes more surface area available for the photodiodes, meaning that a pixel with the same surface area can capture more light. In the new design, the transistors are located behind the diodes.

Xiaomi uses the IMX858 for the ultra-wide-angle lens camera, a telephoto camera with 3x zoom compared to the primary camera and the periscopic telephoto camera with 5x zoom. The primary camera is the same IMX989 as in the 12S Ultra and 13 Pro, says Xiaomi. That is a sensor of 120 square millimeters.

The 13 Ultra will be a camera phone in collaboration with the Leica brand, as was previously revealed. Matching white balance and colors, among other things, between cameras is probably what Leica was referring to when it said that all cameras have the same optical qualities. Xiaomi will announce the 13 Ultra next Tuesday.