The megapixel war is back on and raging stronger than ever. More and more smartphones hit the market every day with an ever-increasing number of megapixels. When the first 108MP mobile camera was announced not too long ago, there were less than a handful of devices with such high-megapixel cameras. But now that number is increasing, albeit very slowly right now.
Below are phones that have a 108MP camera, the highest number of megapixels currently available on any smartphone camera. These phones were released during the 2020/21 period.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 10 MP (periscope telephoto)
3rd Camera: 10 MP (telephoto)
4th Camera: 12 MP (ultra-wide)
Following in the footstep of its S20 Ultra predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G also features a primary camera that boasts a 108MP 1/1.33-inch sensor. But thanks to pixel binning, the default resolution is 12MP with 2.4µm pixels instead of 0.8µm. That makes it great for taking photos in low-light conditions.
Another interesting camera on the S21’s rear quad-camera setup is the periscope telephoto lens. It has a focal length of 240mm, giving the lens an optical zoom factor of 10x. The second telephoto camera only has a 3x optical zoom factor.
When it comes to video, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G can record up to 8K video at 24fps. If you want super slow-motion shots, you can record 720p video at an incredible 960fps. What’s also cool is that you can also record stereo sound, which is pretty neat.
Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 8 MP (ultra-wide)
3rd Camera: 5 MP (macro)
The primary rear camera of the Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+ is the most impressive one of its triple-camera setup. It has a 1/1.52-inch sensor with 0.7µm pixels. The lens is a 26mm wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture.
It would seem, with this phone, that most of the attention was placed on the primary camera because the other two cameras have very modest specs.
However, the K40 Pro+ does shine when it comes to video capabilities. It can capture up to 8K video at 30fps and full HD (1080p) super slo-mo at 960fps. It also features gyro-EIS for added video stabilization when shooting handheld.
Xiaomi Mi 11
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 13 MP (ultra-wide)
3rd Camera: 5 MP (macro)
The Xiaomi Mi 11’s primary camera has a 108MP sensor with 0.8µm pixels. However, it supports 4:1 pixel binning (as do most high-megapixel mobile cameras) which lowers the resolution to 27MP but raises the pixel size from 0.8µm to 1.6µm, which is ideal for low-light photos.
The ultra-wide-angle camera has a 123-degree angle-of-view, which is quite wide for a phone. It has a 1/3.06-inch sensor with 1.12µm pixels and an aperture of f/2.4. The macro camera, like a lot of smartphone macro cameras today, is a modest 5MP but has 1.12µm pixels.
In the front of the Mi 11 is a 27mm wide-angle selfie camera with a 20MP resolution and an f/2.2 aperture. It can record full HD video at 30 and 60 frames per second, as well as 120fps slow-motion at a resolution of 720p.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 13 MP (ultra-wide)
3rd Camera: 5 MP (macro)
The triple-camera setup of the Xiaomi 10T Pro 5G is very similar to that of the Mi 11 shown above. In fact, at the surface level, they are exactly the same, save for some minor differences. For example, the primary camera of this phone (Mi 10T) has an aperture of f/1.7 instead of f/1.9.
The most notable differences are in the video recording capabilities. The Mi 10T Pro 5G is a little bit more limited than the Mi 11 but still pulls its weight. This phone’s main camera can record 8K video at 30fps all the way down to full HD video at up to 120fps.
Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 8 MP (ultra-wide)
3rd Camera: 2 MP (macro)
4th Camera: 2 MP (depth)
The primary camera of the Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G quad-camera setup sports a 1/1.52-inch sensor with 0.7µm pixels. It’s a 26mm wide-angle camera and has an aperture of f/1.8. It can capture 4K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 30, 60, and 120 frames per second. It can also record 960fps super slo-mo at a resolution of 720p.
The other three cameras at the back aren’t as impressive as the main one. The ultra-wide-angle camera has a 1/4.0-inch sensor with 1.12µm pixels and a 120-degree angle of view. The depth camera doesn’t need to have many megapixels because its purpose is not to take pictures but to create a depth map of the environment.
Xiaomi Mi 10 5G
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 13 MP (ultra-wide)
3rd Camera: 2 MP (macro)
4th Camera: 2 MP (depth)
At first glance, the camera specs of the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G might look just like those of the Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G shown above but they’re different, especially the primary and secondary rear cameras. The Mi 10 5G’s primary camera has a bigger sensor (1/1.33-inch) and an f/1.7 aperture.
The 1/3.06-inch sensor of the primary camera is also bigger than that of the Mi 10i 5G. However, they both have 1.12µm pixels. The 3rd and 4th cameras of the Mi 10 5G and the Mi 10i 5G are exactly the same.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G can record up to 8K video at 30fps. It can also shoot 4K and 1080p at up to 60fps.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 12 MP (telephoto)
3rd Camera: 8 MP (telephoto)
4th Camera: 20 MP (ultra-wide)
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G has the most impressive rear camera setup of all the Xiaomi phones listed here. The primary camera has a 1/1.33-inch sensor and an aperture of f/1.7. It uses laser AF to focus, which works great in low-light conditions.
The Mi 10 Pro 5G has two telephoto cameras at the back, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G. The first telephoto lens has a 1/2.55-inch with 1.4µm pixels and a focal length of 50mm. That means it has an optical zoom factor of 2x. But it has no OIS.
The second telephoto lens has OIS and a greater optical zoom factor of 3.7x. Its 1/4.4-inch sensor is smaller than the other one, and the 1µm pixel size is also smaller. However, both telephoto cameras have the same f/2.0 aperture.
Finally, the four-camera array is completed by a 20MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 1/2.8-inch sensor and 1.0µm pixels. The lens has a focal length of 13mm and an aperture of f/2.2.
Motorola Edge+
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: 8 MP (telephoto)
3rd Camera: 16 MP (ultra-wide)
4th Camera: TOF 3D (depth)
The Motorola Edge+ uses the same 108MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor as the phones on this list. It is a 1/1.33-inch type sensor and has 0.8µm pixels when not pixel binned. The lens has an aperture of f/1.8 and features optical image stabilisation.
The 81mm telephoto camera also features OIS and has an optical zoom factor of 3x with an aperture of f/2.4. The ultra-wide-angle camera has a focal length of 13mm and an aperture of f/2.2.
The Motorola Edge+ can record video at different resolutions including 6K, which is not a very common video resolution on other phones. For slow-motion video, you can shoot 120fps at a resolution of 1080p. It also has gyro-EIS for added stability when recording video with any camera support.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Primary Camera: 108 MP (wide)
2nd Camera: Periscope 48 MP (telephoto)
3rd Camera: 12 MP (ultra-wide)
4th Camera: 0.3 MP TOF 3D (depth)
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G’s primary camera has a 1/1.33-inch sensor with 0.8µm pixels that increase in size to 2.4µm after pixel binning. The lens has a 26mm focal length with an aperture of f/1.8 and features OIS.
Another impressive camera on the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the telephoto camera. With a 48MP sensor, it’s one of the highest megapixel smartphone telephoto cameras. The only phone that has a telephoto camera with more megapixels is the Galaxy S20 with a 64MP telephoto camera.
The ultra-wide-angle camera has 12MPs, which is pretty consistent with the cameras of previous Galaxy S-series smartphones. The 0.3MP might seem very little for a modern mobile camera, but that’s more than enough given the function of the ToF camera.
Conclusion
From the list above, it seems that, so far, only three phone manufacturers have decided to stuff their phone cameras with lots of megapixels-- Samsung, Xiaomi, and Motorola. But right now, Xiaomi seems to be leading the pack in terms of the number of devices they have that feature high-megapixel cameras.
However, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the other rear cameras on most of the current Xiaomi devices with a 108MP primary camera don’t have impressive specs. It almost seems like the main focus was on the primary camera to market the phone and the rest were an afterthought.
But no matter what the reasons are for having such high megapixel cameras, all the phones listed above use pixel binning by default, which means that they are factory-set to shoot at a much lower resolution than 108MP. That’s because cameras don’t need to have that many pixels. It’s all marketing hype to create excitement and sell units. Nobody needs to take 108MP photos!
Contrary to popular belief, the truth is megapixels aren’t the most important determining factor of picture quality. A smartphone camera with just 12MP is more than capable of taking excellent photos, depending on certain factors.
These factors include things like the size of the sensor and its pixels, the size of the aperture, the quality of the lens, and other mobile camera specifications. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a phone with a lot of megapixels.
Comments 1
Thank you! That article was very informative.