Samsung is renewing one of its star photo sensors, the Isocell GN1. A reference all the more important because if Samsung equips its own devices – smartphones in the lead – with sensors produced by itself, the firm also supplies competing brands, and not the least important ones. The GN1, for example, is used on Google’s Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 7 and 7 Pro. And to succeed it, it is an Isocell GNK that the Korean manufacturer makes official.
In detail, the sensor has a technical sheet quite comparable to the GN1. It also responds to the 1/1.3″ format and has a definition of 8160 x 6144 pixels, i.e. 50 megapixels available, for pixels of 1.2 µm, or 2.4 µm in the context of images taken at the help of pixel-binning. We also find the dual-pixel autofocus system already integrated into the GN1, the Bayer matrix (arrangement of the colored filters on the photodiodes of the sensor), and a capacity to film in 8K at 30 fps, or even in Full HD at 240 fps.
If the Isocell GNK stands out from the GN1, it is through other features. Samsung highlights HDR support for Full HD video shooting, but also an improvement in the performance of said HDR. The brand thus announces, thanks to new ISO modes, a dynamic range extended to 102 dB – without however specifying the exact dynamic range provided by the GN1. Added to this is a function called Smart-ISO Pro, inaugurated in 2021 on the Isocell HM3 (108 Mpx). For her part, she promises to“enhance dynamic range by reducing motion artifacts, creating images with up to 14-bit color depth”in RAW.
For now, only the Isocell GNK has been announced, and we will have to wait several months before discovering it in smartphones from partner manufacturers. We can nevertheless hope to discover the first products equipped with this reference by the end of the first half of 2024.