The rumored S20 Ultra wouldn't be the first with a 108MP camera. But are more megapixels better?
The Xiaomi Mi Note 10.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
Next week
Samsung
expected to announce a new Galaxy S sequel
Phone(s)
to his
New York Unpacked Event
.Rumors and leaks point to three phones:
the S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra
This S20 Ultra, the whispers say, will have a main camera with a huge 108-megapixel sensor.
This title would go to the Mi Note 10, which
Xiaomi
released last year. This 6.47-inch phone beats Samsung by at least two months with its five-camera setup that includes a 108-megapixel lens. It comes with a 2-megapixel macro camera for snaps. very close-up views, a 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and two telephoto lenses, one 12-megapixel and the other 5-megapixel.
Yes, that's a lot of cameras. And yes, that's
a lot
of megapixels. But if more megapixels automatically meant better photos, the Mi Note 10's 108-megapixel camera would be almost 10 times better than the
iPhone 11 Pro
12 megapixel shooter.
But that's often not the case
.
A quick overview: Megapixels refer to the number of pixels a camera captures.
iPhone 11
the main camera takes photos with a resolution of 4032 x 3024 pixels, which is just over 12,000 pixels. Thus, 12 megapixels. The camera of the Mi Note 10 takes photos with a resolution of 12032 x 9024. On paper you might think that means more detail. But for more megapixels to make sense you need a larger sensor. Otherwise the same amount of light will be spread across multiple pixels, which will result in noise and color inaccuracy.
The Mi Note 10 demonstrates both the disadvantages and the advantages of more megapixels. Photos with lots of light are impressive and retain very good detail even when you zoom in close. But photos with suboptimal lighting are sometimes just average - and are often excessively blurry.
See the comparison below, which compares a "normal" photo with a 108 megapixel "Ultra HD" photo. (There is a separate mode for taking 108 megapixel photos in the camera. The standard default is set to 27 megapixel resolution.) The first thing you'll notice is how much more vivid the colors are in the laksa. The center of the image is also sharper. But both photos are plagued by severe blur of movement.
That flower bed, meanwhile, was slightly sharper in the Ultra HD shot, but not enough to be noticed in anything other than a side-by-side comparison.
When not bothered by that blur, the Mi Note 10 takes respectable, vibrant photos. Sometimes they can look over-processed, like in the high-contrast shot of Sydney Central Station below. In the image below you will see the zoomed photos look great I photographed the statue at 2x zoom and the phone did a great job of handling the water flowing from the fountain in the background .(Note, these two photos are taken with 27 megapixel resolution.)
Enlarge image
A little overprocessed, but a nice shot nonetheless.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
Enlarge image
This photo was taken with a 2x zoom.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
Here's the 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera in action. Below is an example of the Mi Note 10's night mode.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
Despite the lavish camera specs, the Mi Note 10 isn't a very expensive phone. It officially retails in Australia for AU$888, which converts to just under $600 or £455.( The phone is not officially available in the US, but a quick
Amazon
research shows it can be found for less than $500.) You get a lot for it, including the vibrant 6.47-inch screen, beautiful design, and 6GB of RAM. The processor, a Snapdragon 730G, which relies on the midrange, still offers enough power for most people's needs.
It runs Android 9.0 Pie, now a generation after Android 10 was released last year, with Xiaomi's own MIUI 11 UI overlaid. MIUI is definitely not as clean as pure Android, but it has the looks and works better than
Huawei
EMUI and
Oppo
the ColorOS user interfaces of .
The phone officially retails in Australia for AU$888, but can be found on Amazon in the US for less than $500.
Ian Knighton/CNET
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Key Specs
6.47-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel AMOLED display
Qualcomm
Snapdragon 730G processor
6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage
Five-camera setup: 108-megapixel standard, 12-megapixel telephoto, 5-megapixel telephoto, 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and 2-megapixel macro lens
32 megapixel front camera
Headphone jack
Android 9.0 Pie with MIUI 11 UI
5260mAh battery
Quick charge