Pixel 6 could use 50MP camera, according to latest Google Camera update
Yesterday, Google released Android 12 Beta 4, and with it there are a few changes that have been made, including an update to the Google Camera app. And thanks to that update, it seems that we could be getting a 50MP Samsung sensor on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Hidden in the code for the updated Camera app, there’s mention of “p21” where refers to the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. But attached to this string of code was also “gn1_wide”, practically confirming the upcoming devices will include Samsung’s GN1 50MP wide-angle lens.
https://twitter.com/Cstark_27/status/1425525856622063616
The Samsung GN1 camera lens was originally introduced last year, and uses 4-to-1 pixel binning to turn its 50 million 1.2μm-sized pixels into 12.5 million 2.4μm-sized pixels. Since it’s inception, the GN1 has been used in a variety of devices, the most notable of which has been Vivo’s X60 Pro+ device from back in January of this year.
Equipped with the GN1, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will instantly offer an upgrade over the camera system used in Pixel’s from years past. The 50MP will easily outperform the likes of the 12.2MP and 16MP cameras found on the Pixel 5, and paired with Google’s fantastic image processing, we’re in for a much-needed camera upgrade.
Something else to note, as pointed out by 9to5Google is @Cstark_27 was also able to find that Google could end up using Samsung’s Exynos 5123B modem. It’s not all that surprising given that Samsung is likely the one manufacturing the Google Tensor chip. But we’re beginning to feel more and more like this is a Samsung Pixel from an internal hardware perspective, just using Google’s software and design.
Between the Google Tensor chip, the flashy new design, Android 12, and the updated camera hardware (finally), the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are shaping up to be the Google phone that we’ve been always wanting. Now we just have to wait for them to arrive.