Up to 2015, pundits were sure that the pocket friendly point-and-shoot camera segment will still thrive over the smartphone in the world of photography. This is until they see the Leica co-developed HUAWEI P9 smartphone. Since then, smartphone photography did not really grow. It exploded, and now every single manufacturer is pushing for more powerful camera sensors. Samsung has already gone ahead in terms of Megapixel count in a tiny camera sensor with their mind-boggling 108-Megapixel sensors. Sony pushes the threshold at 64-Megapixels at this time.
If you know photography though, Megapixel count is only half the story when it comes to image quality, clarity, and detail. You need bigger sensors too, and that is also the reason why enthusiast grade cameras and even modern point-and-shoot cameras still have their place in the world of photography today. Bigger sensors also mean more light, and therefore better low-light sensitivity; it is simple physics. The race for bigger sensors in smartphones is now on, and births the idea of the HUIAWEI P50.
Technically, we would not know if the HUAWEI P50 comes with a bigger sensor or not. So far, the rumours that the HUAWEI P50 will come with a 1-inch camera sensor is just that; rumours. HUAWEI’s Richard Yu confirms that the HUAWEI P50 will come with a “new mobile imaging technology” though.
Leaked renders show that the HUAWEI P50 might come with two rings of cameras for a quad camera set-up. One of the rings, in the renders and leaks at least, shows three lenses while the other shows a single larger lens accompanied by the LED flash module. Larger lens could mean larger sensors, or it could mean better glass material for the sensor.
We are pretty sure that HUAWEI’s RYYB (Red Yellow Yellow Blue) sensor will still find its way to the upcoming HUAWEI P50. The RYYB sensor, after all, is a HUAWEI technology and they have been boasting the sensor in their smartphones for years now. Whether or not they will be increasing the size of the RYYB sensor is yet to be seen. For all we know, HUAWEI could be using the same 1-inch sensor that the Sharp Aquos R6 launched in Japan packs. Keep in mind that the sensor is also co-developed with Leica, HUAWEI’s camera partner.
For now, we can only speculate. It seems that we do not have to wait for long to find out if the rumours are true or we completely missed the mark. HUAWEI’s Richard Yu just confirmed in his Weibo page that the HUAWEI P50 series will launch on the 29th of July 2021, which is about 10 days away.
Richard did not confirm on whether or not this would be a global launch event though. There are no mentions on livestream links just yet too. While HUAWEI has been banned from using Google’s platform, their flagship launches has been a global affair. In that case, we do expect to hear more from HUAWEI soon.