Will HTC Change Mobile Photography With Ultrapixels?

HTC is planning to announce its newest flagship device later this month. Rumored to be named the HTC M7, HTC is hoping to continue its trend of introducing a new and innovative technology in its newest flagship device. The leaked specifications for the handset have indicated that the phone touts a 13 megapixel camera, which would be no slouch on its own, but nothing we haven’t seen before.

That’s where HTC wants to change the game, because a 13 megapixel shooter alone wouldn’t tell the entire story. According to Pocket-Lint, their trusted sources familiar with the situation told them that the alleged HTC M7 will not have a 13 megapixel shooter. Instead, it will use three sensors that each have 4.3 megapixels layered on top of each other. This gives a combined total of 13 megapixels (if you round up). Using this technique, HTC is coining the term ultrapixel instead of megapixel.

What HTC will do with its ultrapixel feature is combine the data from three separate sensors to create one clearer and higher quality image. The images that come from the ultrapixel imaging technique will also allow for better and more accurate color reproduction. This technique isn’t new to cameras, other companies have used the sensor layering technique in their cameras before, but HTC is the first to bring it to mobile phones. The company is most likely going to use this technique as one of the more important features of the new device and also use it to differentiate itself from devices being released by competitors in the upcoming year.

If rebranding a higher resolution screen worked for Apple with their ‘retina display’, there’s no reason it can’t work with HTC. The company is essentially rebranding the layering technology, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since the camera technically isn’t 13 megapixels, HTC doesn’t want to confuse consumers by announcing something like “three 4.3 megapixel sensors” and are instead rebranding the technology by introducing ultrapixels. If the results live up to the name, other companies may follow HTC’s lead in reimagining camera technology in the mobile sphere. HTC has made strides in mobile camera technology in the past, similar to Nokia’s efforts, and this could be the next step for mobile cameras.

Is it purely a coincidence that soon after sources spoke of the ultrapixel technique making its way into HTC’s new flagship that the company itself also posted an infographic on the history of photography? The infographic says at the very end that HTC has plans for a new camera (and sound) experience for 2013, no doubt pointing towards the new technologies the smartphone giant has planned for the HTC M7 and future phones in its already impressive lineup.

This article was submitted by Jacob Allen, a blogger for Clear High Speed Internet. For more info, click here.

This text is a guest post