Samsung Galaxy S11 camera will appear on a rival Xiaomi smartphone first

Samsung's brand-new, pixel-packed 64MP and 108MP camera sensors will make their debut in Xiaomi-built smartphones, the technology companies have confirmed.

Given the high-resolution 108MP camera system is widely-tipped to be one of the headline features in the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S11, it's really strange to see the Samsung-designed system make its debut in a rival handset.

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According to reliable tipster Ice Universe the newly-announced Galaxy Note 10 will be the last flagship smartphone from Samsung with the previous generation of camera technology, with the Galaxy S11 marking "a new beginning".

"Next year you will see on your smartphone: a 10x optical zoom camera and a 108MP camera," the leakster, who has a solid track record when it comes to unannounced Samsung products, shared in a subsequent tweet.

Samsung Isocell Bright GW1, the camera sensor – a successor to the 48MP variant unveiled last October – is designed to produce ultra-crisp 64MP shots in bright conditions, with the sensor switching to pixel-merging Tetracell technology in tough, low-light conditions to salvage details from the gloom for a 16MP image.

The 1/1.7-inch Isocell Bright GW1 sensor is one of the largest on the market, clocking in at around 34% bigger than the 48MP cameras seen on most flagship phones. How manufacturers accommodate the larger footprint into their multi-camera designs remains to be seen. Xiaomi has yet to unveil the industrial design of the Redmi handset that will boast the 64MP camera.

Samsung and Xiaomi also confirmed plans to introduce the world's first 100MP camera sensor to the market soon. The smartphone camera will include the highest pixel count and resolution ever seen on a handset.

According to the announcement, the 108MP sensor will surpass the 100MP benchmark – enabling it to produce photos with a resolution of 12032 x 9024 pixels.

But you'll be pleased to know that it's not all about size, instead the 108MP sensor will allow photographers will digitally zoom into the photographs to get more creative results. Samsung says the ultra-high-resolution sensor will maintains a high-quality picture of 27MP in 2x zoom – that's double the pixel count of a standard 12MP telephoto camera, like those included on the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy S10.

Unfortunately, both technology companies are keeping shtum about when we can expect to see the 108MP-packing phone hit store shelves worldwide.