Xiaomi to bring better camera performance to the mid-range courtesy of a new 50 MP camera of choice

Xiaomi was at the forefront of the megapixel wars a few years ago. While some of the best camera smartphones in the world are equipped with unimpressive-sounding 12 MP cameras, the company has mostly utilized large megapixel cameras, and it appears a new such sensor will be Xiaomi's sensor of choice for some time to come.

According to tipster Digital Chat Station, Xiaomi is set to adopt a 50 MP sensor as its poster boy. The leaker doesn't quite seem to be sure which sensor it will be, but name-drops the IMX766. That makes sense as the IMX766 is slowly starting to see plenty of use. The sensor finds its most famous implementation behind the ultra-wide-angle lens of the OnePlus 9 Pro, and has now made it across as the OnePlus Nord 2's main camera. It's also found use on phones from Vivo, Honor, and iQOO.

This 50 MP 1/1.5-inch camera will dethrone Sony's 64 MP IMX686 as Xiaomi's CMOS sensor of choice. Indeed, it is an upgrade, as it offers both a larger sensor size and pixel size. We expect a better pixel-binning pipeline too. If this report is anything to go by, we'll likely see this 50 MP used across a variety of mid-range and sub-premium phones from Xiaomi over the course of the next year. The new Redmi 10 may have been the first. Better cameras in affordable phones—what's not to like?

Buy the OnePlus 9 Pro on Amazon.