XDA: Android 12 beta hints at Samsung image sensor and modem for Pixel 6
A modder has found in the fourth beta of Android 12 references to camera sensors and modem chips that will probably be used in Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices. According to XDA Developers, the sensors and modem chips come from Samsung.
After the fourth beta of Android 12 for developers was introduced, modder dipped Cstark27 in the operating system source code. He discovered the string gn1_wide_p21 in the libraries of the renewed api of the Google Camera app.
According to XDA Developers, the p21 refers to the Google Pixel phones that will be introduced in 2021. Characters gn1 would refer to the 50-megapixel Samsung Isocell GN1 camera sensor. This sensor is suggested because, according to previous rumors, the Pixel 6 would have a 50-megapixel camera.
Samsung’s Isocell GN1 camera sensor is 1/1.31-inch in size. That’s about 72mm². The sensor contains 50 megapixels, with each pixel measuring 1.2 micrometers. Through pixel binning, four pixels on the sensor are combined into one pixel that covers an area of 2.4 micrometers. That leads to photos of 12.5 megapixels. The sensor can record videos in Full HD resolution at 400fps, in 4k at 120fps and in 8k at 30fps.
Cstark27 also discovered references to the modem that would be used in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The modem, which was given the reference g5123b, is linked to the Samsung Exynos 5123 modem, which can combine 5G and mmWave with sub-6GHz. This modem is baked on a 7nm process and we know it from the Galaxy S20 and Note20 devices.
The libraries of these APKs show that the modem is linked to multiple devices. For example, Cstark27 found strings that referenced codenames Oriole, Raven, Passport, Slider, and an unknown fifth device. According to 9to5Google, the codenames Oriole and Raven are reserved for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices. Passport would then refer to the as yet unannounced foldable smartphone from Google.
Update11 a.m.: Added GN1 camera sensor and Pixel 6 information