Sony Semiconductor Solutions has unveiled the LYTIA 901, a 1/1.12-type stacked CMOS image sensor that could fundamentally reshape smartphone camera design. By combining approximately 200 effective megapixels with an industry-first on-chip AI processing circuit, the sensor delivers high-quality 4x digital zoom from a single lens, potentially eliminating the need for dedicated telephoto modules in future flagship devices. For years, smartphone manufacturers have stacked multiple cameras onto their devices to cover different focal lengths. Wide, ultrawide, telephoto, periscope – the camera bumps keep growing. Sony’s latest sensor challenges this approach head-on. By processing zoom operations directly on the sensor using AI, the LYTIA 901 promises telephoto-quality results without a telephoto lens. The sensor is now shipping in mass production, meaning we could see it in devices within months. Why digital zoom has always disappointed The fundamental problem with digital zoom is simple: cropping into an image throws away pixels, and upscaling the result creates artifacts. Software processing can help, but it typically happens on the application processor, introducing latency and limiting what can be achieved in real-time video capture. Previous high-megapixel sensors offered more pixels to crop into, but the quality still degraded noticeably beyond 2x magnification. Sony’s solution attacks this problem at the source. The LYTIA 901 uses a Quad-Quad Bayer Coding (QQBC) array structure where 16 adjacent pixels (arranged in a 4×4 grid) share the same color filter. During normal shooting, these 16 pixels combine into one, delivering a 12.5MP output with exceptional light gathering. When zoom is engaged,...
Published By: CineD - Tuesday, 9 December