Samsung announced its S5K2P1 chip that will bring 16-megapixel performance to stand-alone cameras, camcorders, and most importantly smartphones. The sensor itself is a 1/2.3-inch component and uses backside illumination for extra-low-noise performance. The chip is capable of taking a full-frame, 16-megapixel shot at 30fps, and can handle 60fps video at a still-very-impressive 8.3-megapixel resolution; keep in mind, 1080p video is only 2.1-megapixel.
It's no secret that there's a whole lot more contributing to image quality than just megapixel count, and pictures taken with a high-resolution sensor that's too small, or one that isn't paired with a good-quality, large lens, will fail to impress. As a result, it's easy to accuse the manufacturers of these higher-and-higher resolution sensors as just perpetuating the "megapixel myth", but that's not entirely fair; so long as we let smartphone companies know that we want handsets with quality optics, in addition to high-res sensors, there's no reason a 16-megapixel can't be a welcome addition to a phone.
Source: Samsung
