Why 2026 smartphones won’t have this game-changing camera tech

Trendy smartphone cameras are spectacular beasts, as many digicam telephones mix cutting-edge {hardware} with superior picture processing capabilities. Among the extra notable improvements in recent times embrace periscope cameras, 200MP sensors, and all-pixel autofocus.

Nevertheless, certainly one of my favourite {hardware} options arrived in 2022: one-inch digicam sensors. Sadly, adoption of this tech has seemingly stalled within the final 12 months or so, and it doesn’t appear to be we’ll see a lot of it in 2026. What went unsuitable?

One-inch 50MP digicam sensors debuted on the Xiaomi 12s Extremely again in 2022, and it actually felt like this was the following large factor. Actually, Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO, and HUAWEI wasted little time bringing this tech to their top-end telephones.

Quick-forward to 2026, although, and it looks as if smartphone makers aren’t so loopy about this expertise. Vivo supplied a one-inch 50MP foremost digicam on the X90 Professional and X100 Professional, however skipped it on subsequent releases. The Xiaomi 13 Professional additionally used this sensor, however subsequent Professional handsets, such because the Xiaomi 17 Professional Max, don’t embrace it.

It’s not all dangerous information, as HUAWEI continues to supply this function on its Professional and Extremely telephones. OPPO and Xiaomi not provide this function on their Professional handsets however retain it on their Extremely fashions. In different phrases, you’ll be able to nonetheless discover telephones with one-inch sensors for those who look arduous sufficient or are prepared to import them. Nevertheless, fewer telephones provide this digicam expertise at the moment.

I additionally anticipated the likes of Samsung, Google, Apple, and Sony to hitch the one-inch sensor practice, however this hasn’t occurred so far. That’s disappointing, as these giant sensors provide a number of advantages over smaller cameras.

One notable perk is a shallower depth-of-field impact with out resorting to software program trickery. This leads to photographs with extra nice and correct bokeh. These giant sensors additionally boast spectacular light-gathering, leading to brighter, cleaner photographs with improved dynamic vary. This additionally reduces movement blur, for the reason that shutter doesn’t have to remain open as lengthy, permitting you to freeze topics even in combined lighting. Telephones just like the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and vivo X100 Professional additionally make good use of those sensors, delivering spectacular low-light snaps, whereas the latter even affords a handheld astrophotography mode.

Maybe the most important purpose why we haven’t seen wider adoption of one-inch cameras is house constraints. These sensors take up a variety of house contained in the telephone, forcing producers to implement large digicam bumps. For sure, these large housings are ugly and can lead to a much less ergonomic system. I do know I generally wrestle to position my index finger when utilizing a telephone with an Oreo-sized digicam bump. These giant housings also can trigger a telephone to wobble considerably when used on a flat floor.

It additionally doesn’t assist that Apple and Samsung went in one other route altogether by providing ultra-thin smartphones in 2025. These gadgets are so skinny that cramming a number of rear cameras into the body is a problem, not to mention a one-inch digicam sensor or a telephoto lens. Fortunately, customers have largely uncared for skinny gadgets just like the Galaxy S25 Edge because of the compromised cameras, shorter battery life, and excessive worth tags.

One other concern with one-inch cameras is that the sensor have to be farther from the lens for optimum focusing and picture high quality. Actually, HUAWEI’s Pura 70 Extremely (seen above) includes a retractable major digicam lens to extend the space between the lens and sensor. HUAWEI and Xiaomi have additionally paired one-inch cameras with a variable aperture to fight focusing and depth-of-field points related to these giant sensors. However retractable lenses and variable apertures additionally improve {hardware} complexity and drive up prices.

Talking of prices, I think about that corporations like Apple and Samsung haven’t adopted one-inch cameras as a result of these elements would cut back revenue margins. As an alternative, Samsung particularly sticks with the identical foremost digicam sensors for a number of years.

One other potential purpose why large foremost sensors haven’t gained traction is that telephoto cameras have change into more and more necessary — I do know that is my favourite digicam on a number of flagships as of late. These zoom-focused modules take up important house, notably as producers provide more and more bigger telephoto sensors and extra advanced periscope designs. It due to this fact is sensible to barely cut back the first digicam’s dimension to allow higher zoom.

Smaller digicam sensors have additionally caught up with one-inch sensors in some methods. Vivo switched to a smaller, LYT-818 foremost digicam (1/1.28-inch) for the X200 Professional. It claimed that this digicam has higher video high quality than the one-inch IMX989 sensor and comparable photograph high quality. In fact, vivo in contrast this smaller foremost sensor to the first-generation one-inch sensor slightly than the second-generation LYT-900. However, the vivo X300 Professional and OPPO Discover X9 Professional now use the LYT-828 foremost digicam sensor (1/1.28-inch), which affords superior HDR capabilities and ultra-high conversion acquire tech that’s lacking from one-inch sensors.

That each one mentioned, it feels like one-inch digicam sensors aren’t going anyplace simply but — at the very least not utterly. Actually, latest developments might result in extra telephones with this tech sooner or later. The brand-new Xiaomi 17 Extremely includes a new one-inch sensor from the Chinese language model Omnivision, and a fellow Chinese language firm, SmartSens, launched a one-inch sensor in July 2025.

That is an encouraging growth, because it means Sony is not the one firm providing one-inch cameras. In idea, this diversified provide chain might cut back prices and, due to this fact, result in better proliferation of those sensors.

Nevertheless, Sony additionally appears bullish on giant digicam sensors. The corporate disclosed a graph earlier this 12 months that predicts giant sensors to develop in reputation on high-end telephones till 2028.

“Traditionally till now, the expertise of our cellular sensors has developed first by means of a number of cameras after which larger-sized sensors as much as 1-inch, and this has helped our enterprise development,” Sony informed Android Authority in response to emailed questions, whereas noting that the adoption of huge sensors usually was progressing “easily.”

Then once more, the following large digicam sensor improve may not be a one-inch sensor in any case. Sony just lately introduced the 200MP LYT-901 digicam sensor (1/1.12-inch), which is considerably bigger than present 200MP sensors and barely smaller than 50MP one-inch sensors. Leaks recommend that OPPO and vivo might make the most of this sensor as the primary digicam of their upcoming Extremely telephones.

As such, the Xiaomi 17 Extremely and its new one-inch sensor could be the exception slightly than the rule in 2026. That’s to not say smartphone cameras in 2026 gained’t be unimaginable, however the dream of one-inch sensors on all flagships in all probability isn’t coming true this 12 months.