Samsung intros 20 MP ISOCELL slim sensor for full-screen display handsets

The notch seems to be history already, as most smartphone makers are taking one step forward by adopting the full-screen design that involves a hole for the selfie shooter. Since this approach needs the front camera to be as compact as possible, it is not surprising that Samsung has just unveiled the ISOCELL Slim 3T2, an image sensor that is the industry's most compact one.

The Samsung ISOCELL Slim 3T2 image sensors measures 1/3.4 inches and provides 20 MP for both front and back cameras. According to Jinhyun Kwon, vice president of System LSI sensor marketing at Samsung Electronics, "The ISOCELL Slim 3T2 is our smallest and most versatile 20Mp image sensor that helps mobile device manufacturers bring differentiated consumer value not only in camera performance but also in features including hardware design." 

The new sensor can be used in multi-camera setups as well, but in this case, it will adopt an RGB color filter array instead of Tetracell technology employed for selfie shooters. Compared to a 13 MP sensor with the same module height, the 3T2 provides a 60-percent higher effective resolution at 10X digital zoom.

Although it is now official, this new ISOCELL image sensor is not in mass production yet. However, Samsung confirmed that this hardware part will enter the mass production stage by the end of the first quarter.