Samsung Electronics said Monday it has developed the highest definition image sensor for mobile devices in collaboration with Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi.

The South Korean tech giant revealed it will start production of the industry’s first mobile image sensor with over 100 million pixels, dubbed as ISOCELL Bright HMX.

The sensor boasts 108 megapixels, which enable mobile devices to offer a resolution equivalent to that of a high-end DSLR camera, according to the company.

Samsung has been working closely with Xiaomi for its development, the company said indicating that the partnership is expected to continue. 

Image sensors are a part of Samsung’s logic chip business. The company has been accelerating efforts to catch up with Japanese rival Sony in the sector.

“We are very pleased that the picture resolutions previously available only in a few top-tier DSLR cameras can now be designed into smartphones,” said Lin Bin, co-founder and president of Xiaomi. “As we continue our partnership, we anticipate bringing not only new mobile camera experiences but also a platform through which our users can create unique contents.”

The HMX sensor, in particular, can absorb more light in low-lit settings owing to its pixel-merging Tetracell technology to produce bright and clear photographs.

It can also produce clearer photos with its smart-ISO mechanism that intelligently adjusts the level of amplifier gains according to the illumination of the environment.

In bright environments, the mechanism selects low-ISO mode for vivid colors, while switching to high-ISO mode in dark settings.

Samsung is scheduled to start mass production of the latest image sensor this month.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)