The Xiaomi Mi 12S Ultra will use a huge 1-inch camera sensor co-developed with Sony

Image: Xiaomi

A white whale is a big-sensor camera. Efforts to bring bigger sensors to the mobile form factor have been impractical and never materialized. The 12S Ultra flagship will be the latest company to try and capture the concept.

The phone will have a Sony-developed 1-inch type sensor, according to a post on Weibo. That is 1.7 times more surface area than the main camera module. It is the same size sensor as the Sony Cyber-shot RX 100 VII that is the ultimate compact camera.

It is a big deal because no one has been able to get a 1-inch camera to work on a phone. The larger the sensor, the better the image in low light.

Image: Xiaomi

The company called in Leica to work on a project too, though it is far from the first project of the company. Traditional camera makers collaborating with smartphone manufacturers haven't resulted in much more than a logo on the camera and a lot of marketing bluster The money and effort is being put into co-developing new hardware byXiaomi. The cost of the new sensor was split between the two companies.

Since it is difficult for Chinese brands to gain a foothold in the US, the 12S Ultra is not likely to ever be sold there. The 12S Ultra will be presented to the world on July 4th at 7pm China Standard Time.