Xiaomi’s next phone might have a 48-megapixel camera

The smartphone megapixel wars aren’t over yet. 

Chinese electronics company Xiaomi teased a new smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera, a record for the company, and as far as we can recall, an all-time record in popular consumer electronics, beating Nokia’s 41-megapixel 808 PureView phone. 

As noted by Android Central, the phone is also likely to have Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 675 chip. 

As extravagant as 48 megapixels sound, it actually makes a lot of sense. Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro has a 40-megapixel main camera, but, by default, it uses the information gathered by the sensor to create better-looking 10-megapixel photos. If Xiaomi goes the same route, its new phone will likely default to 12-megapixel photos while benefiting from the details gathered by the 48-megapixel sensor. 

We can also take an educated guess at which sensor Xiaomi will use, since Sony launched its 48-megapixel IMX586 image sensor for smartphones in July (Samsung also has a 48-megapixel sensor called ISOCELL Bright GM1). And yes, one of those sensor’s features is combining the light captured from four adjacent pixels to create a bright 12-megapixel image in crappy light conditions. Prepare for some awesome night photos.

The photo of the phone, shared by Xiaomi president Bin Lin on Chinese social network Weibo, doesn’t reveal any other details about the phone except its black color. The photo’s caption, however, claims the new phone is coming in January. 

Given its CPU, the phone is likely to be a mid-ranger with an obvious focus on photography. And judging by Xiaomi’s previous launches, it’ll likely be pretty cheap.