Designed for smartphones (and likely tablets), Sony has announced a new advanced image sensor which offers improved image quality and faster speeds thanks to a new “stacked” design which cuts down on size. Dubbed the Exmor RS IMX230, it’s the industry’s first CMOS image sensor for smartphones to be equipped with an onboard image plane phase detection AF signal processing function. In short, this new image sensor is capable of 192 autofocus points, resulting in much faster tracking of moving subjects that happens almost instantaneously.

With an impressive 21-megapixels, the Exmor RS IMX230 is the first of its kind to also be able to record 4K HDR video. The High Dynamic Range (HDR) function, which captures both backgrounds and subjects clearly and vividly even in high-contrast scenes such as backlit locations, now supports high-resolution still images and 4K video recording. From Sony:

 The new IMX230 is a type 1/2.4 stacked CMOS image sensor with a significantly improved 21 effective megapixels, and it is also equipped with a newly developed signal processing function. These features fulfill the growing needs in smartphone photography for high-speed autofocus (image plane phase detection AF) and clear, high-quality capture of bright and dark areas even in backlit scenes (HDR imaging). Image plane phase detection AF is a technology used in mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and HDR imaging now supports not only 4K (4096 x 2160) high-resolution videos but also still images. Sony also plans to extend the lineup by adding a 16 effective megapixels stacked CMOS image sensor equipped with image plane phase detection AF and HDR imaging functions by the end of the next fiscal year. 

According to Sony, the Exmor RS IMX230 sensor are built with a chip that stacks a pixel section and a circuit section on top of one another. With this, Sony can build improvements into each aspect of the sensor individually, leading to dramatic improvements. This also allows Sony engineers to fine tune each part of the sensor separately without needing to worry about adversely affecting other parts of the sensor.

In addition to being used internally by Sony, Apple has been one of the company’s biggest customers and has used their image sensors since iPhone 4s. Though it has yet to be confirmed, it’s believed that Sony is also providing the image sensors in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ which have been touted as some of the best available on smartphones. This new CMOS image sensor will ship in April 2015 and should be seen in devices by Fall 2015. Perhaps just in time for the Xperia Z4?

Discuss:

What do you think about the new Exmor RS IMX230?

[Via Sony]