Samsung ISOCELL HM1 Vs ISOCELL HMX: 108MP Camera Comparison

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with a massive 108MP camera is the latest flagship smartphone from the South Korean tech giant. However, this is not the world's first 108MP camera, as the Mi Note, which was launched a few months before also features a 108MP camera.

Though it might look like both smartphones have an identical camera sensor, they are not the same. The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 comes with the Samsung ISOCELL HMX sensor, whereas the Galaxy 20 Ultra features an all-new ISOCELL HM1 sensor, which is a new and improvised 108MP smartphone camera.

Compared to the ISOCELL HMX sensor, the ISOCELL HM1 sensor offers a lot of new features and additional improvements, which will further enhance the image quality on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, compared to other smartphones with a 108MP camera.

Ability To Shoot 8K Videos

The Samsung ISOCELL HM1 is probably the first 108MP camera sensor, capable of recording native 8K videos at 24fps. The company claims that the sensor is capable of recording 8K videos even in extreme lighting conditions. When it comes to the ISOCELL HMX sensor, it can only record a video with a max resolution of 6K ((6016 x 3384p) at 30fps.

For video enthusiasts, a smartphone equipped with the ISOCELL HM1 sensor seems like the right choice, as it offers higher resolution video recording compared to the ISOCELL HMX sensor.

Pixel Binning Technology

The ISOCELL HMX uses Tetracell technology to merge four pixels into one to improve the image quality and produces 27MP images. Similarly, the ISOCELL HM1 uses Nonacell technology, which merges nine neighboring pixels into one to produce images that look sharper and accurate, in this case, the images will be in 12MP resolution.

Though a 12MP image might seem a bit less than the 27MP image produced by the ISOCELL HMX sensor, the bigger virtual pixel size of 2.7μm, the images shot on the ISOCELL HM1 will be much detailed, especially in low-light situations.

Physically Same

Considering the aforementioned features, the Samsung ISOCELL HM1 seems like the best the 108MP amongst the duo. However, if we look at the physical attributes of these sensors, both offer 0.8μm pixel size and 1/1.33-inch sensor size and both can shoot native 108MP images. Most of the upgrades or changes on the ISOCELL HM1 are mainly due to software enhancements.