Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation has announced the upcoming launch of its LYTIA 901, a 1/1.12-type mobile image sensor that delivers around 200 megapixels of resolution. The new sensor brings a large-format design, high sensitivity, powerful zoom performance, and advanced in-sensor processing to future smartphones.
Sony uses a 0.7 µm pixel pitch to reach the 200-megapixel count on this large sensor. The company redesigned the pixel structure and color filters to boost saturation levels, helping the sensor deliver a wider dynamic range.
To manage both high resolution and low-light shooting, Sony uses a Quad-Quad Bayer Coding (QQBC) array where 16 neighboring pixels share the same color filter. During regular shooting, the camera reads these 16 pixels as one, which increases sensitivity at night or in dim indoors. During zooming, the sensor switches to a remosaiced layout to restore full resolution and produce clear, detailed images even at 4x zoom.
Sony also built a new learning-based remosaicing engine directly inside the chip — another industry first for the company. This on-sensor processing handles complex calculations at high speed and preserves fine details such as patterns and text. Thanks to this, smartphones can shoot high-quality 4K video at up to 30 fps while using up to 4x zoom.
For dynamic range, Sony equipped the LYTIA 901 with multiple HDR systems. DCG-HDR blends data captured at two different gain levels in a single frame, while Fine12bit ADC increases the depth from 10-bit to 12-bit for richer tones across the 4x zoom range. Another feature, Hybrid Frame-HDR, mixes short-exposure frames with DCG data to deliver more than 100 dB of dynamic range. This helps reduce blown highlights and crushed shadows, producing images that match the brightness seen by the human eye.
Sony will use a unified naming style for all future LYTIA-brand sensors, starting with the LYTIA 901.
Key Specification Highlights
- Image Size: 1/1.12-type
- Resolution: Approx. 200 MP
- Pixel Size: 0.7 µm
- Color Filter: Quad-Quad Bayer (QQBC)
- Full-resolution RAW: 10 fps
- 50 MP mode: 30 fps
- 12.5 MP mode: 60 fps
- 4K video: Up to 120 fps (binning modes)
- Output: MIPI C-PHY & MIPI D-PHY
Abhijeet is a software engineer who moonlights as a tech writer. His love for gadgets, mobile innovations, and smart devices keeps him closely connected to India’s fast-growing tech scene. When he’s not coding, he’s usually testing the latest earbuds or Android updates.