Samsung Electronics today introduced its smallest high-resolution image sensor, the ISOCELL Slim 3T2 -- the industry’s most compact 20-megapixel image sensor at 1/3.4 inches (approximately 5.1-millimeters diagonally).

With 20-million active 0.8µm-sized pixels, the ISOCELL Slim 3T2 promises to provide excellent clarity and detail. It also offers high color fidelity by adopting Samsung’s ISOCELL Plus technology that enables sensors to capture and absorb more light information for accurate color reproduction even with sub-micrometer-sized pixels.

In order to support smartphones with the latest display features such as the ‘hole-in display’ or ‘notch design,’ front-facing image sensors need to minimize their size while being able to capture high-quality images. The 1/3.4-inch 3T2 snuggly fits into a tiny module making more space for the display. In addition, Samsung’s Tetracell technology, which merges four pixels to work as one, lets the 3T2 take brighter and sharper pictures in low-light settings as the color filter array’s light sensitivity increases to that of a 1.6µm-pixel image sensor at 5Mp resolution.

When applied in rear-facing multi-camera settings for telephoto solutions, the 3T2 adopts an RGB color filter array instead of Tetracell technology. The small size of the image sensor also reduces the height of the tele-camera module by around seven percent when compared to Samsung’s 1/3-inch 20Mp image sensor, allowing more elegant smartphone designs. Compared to a 13Mp sensor with the same module height, the 20Mp 3T2 retains 60-percent higher effective resolution at 10x digital zoom that presents clearer and more accurate results.

The Samsung ISOCELL Slim 3T2 is expected to be in mass production in the first quarter of this year.

Samsung Electronics’ 10th anniversary Galaxy phones will be unwrapped soon faturing a breakthrough camera technology ordered by the firm’s leader Lee Jae-yong.

According to rumors from tech fans around the world, the upcoming Galaxy S10 series is expected to feature three rear cameras that deliver 12-megapixel, 16-megapixel and 13-megapixel resolution, respectively, and dual front-facing cameras.

There are speculations that the Samsung S10 could adopt the new ISOCELL Slim 3T2 image sensor. However, the company denied the possibility.

Last year’s Galaxy S9 and S9+ models both adopted ISOCELL Bright 3H1 on the front camera, and ISOCELL Frost 2L3 and Slim 3M3 (for S9+ only) on the rear main camera. Those ISOCELL sensors were launch early last year.