Sony IMX800 detailed: 1/1.49" sensor with 54MP resolution

There were many leaks about a sensor called “Sony IMX800”, which was supposed to be huge and was going to be featured in multiple flagships. There may have been a case of mistaken identity, so let’s set the record straight.

The actual Sony IMX800 made its debut with the Honor 70 series. The resolution is an unusual 54MP or more specifically 8,768 x 6,144px. With support for 4-to-1 pixel binning, most phones using this sensor will likely default to 13.5MP or 12MP resolution.

As for size, the sensor has a 1/1.49” optical format. Not as huge as some made out to be, but still fairly large even among flagship offerings – e.g. the Honor Magic4 Pro has a 1/1.56” sensor, as do the Galaxy S22 and S22+, Oppo Find X5 Pro and many others.

Crucially, they have the same pixel size of 1.0µm, which goes up to 2.0µm with binning enabled. This is an important metric, especially at a time when many sensors have dipped below the 1.0µm mark (especially ones with higher resolutions).

The Honor 70 series will be our first encounter with the IMX800, but the sensor will likely be featured in other camera-oriented phones as well. Which ones is yet to be revealed.