Samsung outs the first smartphone image sensor with 1.0μm pixels

Samsung took the wraps off the industry’s first 16MP image sensor for mobile devices with 1.0μm pixels. Sporting the model number S5K3P3, the component has already entered mass production.



Thanks to its smaller pixels, Samsung has reduced the height of the ISOCELL sensor by 20% in comparison to the currently utilized 16MP solutions with 1.12μm pixels. With z-height below 5mm, the newcomer will allow hardware designers to create devices with minimal camera protrusion.

It is important to note that Samsung has achieved the size reduction of the new sensor without compromising on its image quality. The latter is said to be on par with the already stellar results produced by the current 16MP sensors used by the manufacturer.

Samsung S5K3P3 is already made available to device manufacturers. We won’t be surprised if the sensor gets featured in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

Motorola may set up production unit in India

Motorola could soon join the growing list of multinational smartphone manufacturers that have jumped on to the Make in India bandwagon. The company is currently evaluating options to set up a production unit in the country.
“Evaluation is going on… We will have news soon,” said Marcus Frost, Senior Marketing Director Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific at Motorola, when asked about the company's manufacturing plans in India.

The Lenovo-owned company currently has manufacturing facilities in China and Latin America. It had a production unit in Chennai, India, but operations there were indefinitely suspended a couple of years ago.

While Samsung and HTC (reportedly) are set to begin production in India, there have been reports that Sony is also considering manufacturing smartphones in the country.

LG Thinks Flexible Displays Are the Future, Do You?

LG enjoyed moderate success with its flexible 6-inch G Flex, enough to invest in this year’s successor, the G Flex 2. This confidence has been reflected in the company’s insistence that flexible smartphones will make up 40% of the market share in 2018, and now more firmly in its newly announced flexible display factory. Despite the phone itself initially suffering from issues with performance due to poorly optimized software and its now infamous processor, the design principles of the Flex 2 are logical and have some distinct advantages. These include ergonomic improvements like making the top of a large display slightly easier to reach and having the phone fit the face and hand more naturally, as well as physical gains in the durability of the screen and handset as a whole (see The State of Smartphone Design for more details). As much as curved screens are becoming more popular however, fully flexible devices are yet to fully hit the mainstream. LG has made its intentions clear in this respect; they still agree with their previous projections, and have put 1.05 trillion Won ($907 million) towards the construction of a new plant dedicated to the production of flexible displays. This outlay is set to begin in the third quarter of this year, for over two years, and is specifically funded by LG’s ‘LG Display’ off-shoot, who are one of the world’s top two screen manufacturers along with Samsung Display Co. Of course there is more to a flexible phone than the display, like ensuring circuit boards and batteries have room to move over one another, but considering that the average user’s attention is almost wholly focussed on the screen, poor quality in this department can affect the experience hugely and cripple a device’s chance at success. It looks as if this investment is also geared in the direction of the introduction of foldable (or rollable) displays which is good for driving innovation within the industry as a whole, especially considering that LG Display provides hardware for other OEMS. However, an important part of owning a dedicated production line for flexible displays is increasing the yield and quality of said components. This could contribute greatly to the uptake of this kind of device, as consumers of previous examples have experienced issues in this area, with threads here at XDA dedicated to the evidence. Ultimately though, this move from LG should inspire confidence amongst fans of the form factor, and leaves us hopeful for what we’ll see over the coming years from the South Korean giant. Do you think flexible displays are the future of the mobile world? Let us know in the comments below.

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Smartphone Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ live images appear

Tradition dictates that rumors and leaked renders of an upcoming smartphone should be followed by actual live photos, and here we go as Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 and S6 edge+ posed in front of a camera. Confirming what was already more or less established, the images depict the edged phablet in golden attire, while the Note 5 is in a more orthodox white.

The Galaxy S6 edge+ isn't trying to hide its relation to its smaller edge brother released in March. In fact, if it wasn't for a minor difference in the curve of the corners and the straight top and bottom edges, we may as well be looking at the phone and not the phablet. The gold color will be appreciated by the flashier customers, though the contrasting home button may bother some.

The other more meaningful piece of intel, revealed by the photos, is the OS version on the Galaxy S6 edge+, and it's going to be Android 5.1.1 Lollipop - only the latest is befitting of the upmarket smartphone.

The Galaxy Note 5 photos are almost equally as predictable, but they do clarify a few things. The sensor arrangement on the left of the earpiece corresponds to the renders we exclusively delivered, and not to the triple cutout previously leaked. Additionally, the thin bezels that we expected, based on display and overall dimensions, indeed appear to be a reality.

That's all there is for now, but expect to see higher-res better-lit spy images of Samsung's upcoming phablets, as the alleged August 13 launch date approaches.

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