Sony has unveiled the 64-megapixel image sensor LYTIA 610 aimed at improving smartphone telephoto camera performance. It is seeking to raise telephoto shooting quality, long seen as a weak point of smartphone cameras, by improving resolution and autofocus performance at the same time.

On June 24 local time, IT outlet TechRadar reported that Sony announced the new mobile image sensor LYTIA 610. It is the industry’s first mass-produced image sensor to apply an “RB2×2 on-chip lens pixel structure,” focusing on improving image quality and focusing performance for smartphone telephoto cameras.

Telephoto cameras have been seen as a relatively weak area in smartphone multi-camera systems. Many manufacturers have faced criticism that the gap in image quality versus the main camera is large because they use smaller sensors or lower pixel counts than wide-angle cameras.

Sony explained that LYTIA 610 can improve those limitations. The company said spatial resolution is more than 20 percent higher than existing Sony sensors with the same pixel size. Spatial resolution measures how sharply fine details are rendered.

Autofocus performance has also been strengthened. Sony said it applied a new pixel structure to achieve high resolution along with fast and accurate autofocus. It said this is expected to deliver sharper results even when shooting distant subjects.

Video performance has also improved. By increasing readout speed, it supports 4K video at 120 frames per second and 4K 60 fps HDR video. As a result, image-quality improvements are expected not only for still photos but also for telephoto video shooting.

Sony also stressed balance across the overall multi-camera system. The company said, “By narrowing the performance gap between the main camera’s large sensor and the telephoto camera, we can provide more consistent image quality across the entire camera system.” It means it aims to reduce the problem of telephoto results falling far short of wide-angle camera output.

A notable point is that these performance gains were achieved without increasing sensor size. Compared with LYTIA 601, which is currently used in some smartphone telephoto cameras, LYTIA 610 keeps the same sensor size even though the internal design has been changed. Smartphone makers are expected to be able to improve telephoto performance without securing additional internal space, reducing design burdens.

It has not been disclosed which smartphone will use it first. Sony image sensors are supplied not only to Xperia but also to major smartphone makers such as Apple, Google and Xiaomi, raising the possibility it could be adopted as a telephoto camera candidate for next flagship smartphones.

The industry is watching how much Sony’s new sensor will actually improve telephoto shooting quality in real products, as smartphone camera competition is increasingly expanding from a focus on the main camera to overall multi-camera completeness.