Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ use different image sensors in different regions

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ may not have brought significant upgrades over their predecessors, the camera part of the smartphones is exceptional. While the Galaxy S9 has a single rear camera, the Galaxy S9+ flaunts a dual camera setup at its back. Now, after more than a month from their launch, an interesting piece of information has come up.

It seems like the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have different cameras in select countries. Folks at TechInsights have found that the smartphones in some regions feature the IMX-branded camera sensors, while in some regions they have the ISOCELL sensors. For those who are unaware, IMX-branded sensors are made by Sony while ISOCELL is Samsung's in-house sensor.

After tearing down the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, it has been discovered that some units of the smartphones come with the IMX345 sensor, which is the same sensor used in last year's Sony Xperia XZ lineup of smartphones.

On the other hand, the S5K2L3 ISOCELL sensor used in some models is an upgrade over the S5K2L2 that is present in the Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8.

When it comes to performance, there's not much difference between the two sensors. However, their components are stacked differently.

Both the sensors have a 3-layer stack design. In IMX345, the DRAM chip in placed between the ISP (Image Signal Processor) and CMOS image sensor. Whereas, in the ISOCELL sensor, the ISP is placed in the middle.

These three components are crucial for processing the ultra-slow-motion 960fps video recording, a feature present in the Galaxy S9 duo.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is equipped with a 12MP primary camera which is capable of switching between the aperture size of f/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on the lighting conditions. The rear sensor can also record slow-mo videos in high quality. What's more, the camera comes with AR emojis.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ First Impressions

The Galaxy S9+, on the other hand, flaunts a rear dual camera setup with two 12MP sensors. The primary sensor is equipped with a wide-angle lens and dual-aperture technology which can range between the aperture sizes of f/1.5 and f/2.4. The secondary sensor is a 2x Telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture.