
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Samsung Semiconductor is hinting astatine 200MP telephoto cameras coming to phones.
- The institution says 200MP tele cameras would connection amended portraits and zoom quality.
- Rumors persist that the vivo X100 Pro Plus could beryllium the archetypal telephone with a 200MP tele lens.
We’ve seen smartphones with 200MP cameras launching successful the past 12 months, but these sensors are typically confined to the main camera. Now, Samsung Semiconductor has hinted astatine 200MP telephoto cameras, and this improvement could beryllium a large upgrade for respective reasons.
Samsung posted an article connected its website, calling 200MP telephoto cameras the “next large happening successful smartphone photography.” For starters, the institution notes that a telephoto camera is preferable for representation shots owed to reduced distortion compared to shooting with a main camera sensor. Check retired the examination below.

However, the institution explains that telephoto camera sensors thin to beryllium overmuch smaller than superior camera sensors. This disparity typically results successful a important prime spread betwixt superior and tele cameras. So a bigger telephoto sensor should constrictive that representation prime spread portion besides offering a shallower depth-of-field, enabling the blurry inheritance that you privation for representation shots successful the archetypal place.
More megapixels means much cropping
Samsung besides rightfully points retired that ace high-resolution sensors similar 200MP cameras are capable to present lossless cropped zoom acknowledgment to each those megapixels (see the examination below). In fact, we’ve already seen the mid-range Realme 11 Pro Plus utilizing a 200MP main camera to present 4x lossless zoom. This is lone lossless successful presumption of solution arsenic the camera isn’t capable to usage pixel-binning to amended representation prime arsenic it’s capable to bash astatine 1x, but it’s inactive a measurement supra emblematic integer zoom.

A 200MP sensor truthful seems similar a important upgrade for telephoto cameras, and Samsung seems to agree:
For example, connected a 3x telephoto module with a 200MP sensor, lossless zoom scenarios tin beryllium tally from 3x to 6x to 12x.
In fact, we’d stake that Android OEMs could get coagulated results beyond 12x too, depending connected their bundle processing smarts. After all, phones similar the HUAWEI P60 Pro battalion a 48MP 3.5x tele camera and inactive present decent representation prime astatine 10x. We’ve besides seen the likes of the Google Pixel 7 Pro packing a 48MP 5x periscope lens and getting usable images astatine 10x oregon 15x.
You mightiness not request to hold excessively agelong for the archetypal telephone with a 200MP telephoto camera. No, it apt won’t travel from Samsung itself. Instead, rumors persist that the vivo X100 Pro Plus volition connection a 200MP tele shooter. There’s nary connection connected this telephone launching extracurricular China conscionable yet.
There are imaginable downsides to a 200MP telephoto camera, though. These concerns see a larger camera bump, cost, and degraded low-light representation quality. But the upsides of top-notch long-range zoom and high-quality, distortion-free portraits mightiness beryllium excessively tantalizing to ignore. So don’t beryllium amazed if immoderate of the best camera phones battalion a 200MP tele lens successful 2024.