Samsung Reportedly Making Camera System That Captures 320MP Photos

Samsung is reportedly developing a new image signal processing pipeline, dubbed “Exynos 2600,” that could support a single 320-megapixel camera or up to three 108-megapixel image sensors simultaneously.

As reported by WCCF Tech, Samsung leakers are out in full force ahead of the company’s next Galaxy event, which is expected early next year. However, while the rumor mill is churning concerning the next Galaxy smartphones, the presumed Galaxy S26 series, WCCF Tech claims that the Exynos 2600 will not be featured in Samsung’s upcoming handhelds, instead reserved for even later models.

Nonetheless, it’s easy for mobile photographers to be excited about what looks to be coming down the pipeline. Smartphone imaging technology has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, driven largely by processing improvements, rather than pure image sensor or lens evolutions. While sensors are improving, the most significant performance gains come from faster sensor readout speeds paired with faster processors, enabling new photo and video features and, in many cases, better HDR and tone-mapping performance.

Computational photography is hugely important in the smartphone space, as there is not much room for camera systems to physically grow larger. People don’t really want huge smartphones, so phone makers must get clever. The more powerful an image processing pipeline, the more clever smartphone manufacturers can get.

To that end, the Exynos 2600 promises to bring a ton of power. A reliable leaker who goes by SPYGO19726 on X, formerly Twitter, claims that, based on internal Samsung documentation and conversations with engineers, the company is completely reengineering its entire imaging stack, which comprises the cameras themselves and the processors that handle imaging tasks, to deliver “console-class GPU rendering, AI-driven image synthesis, and pro-grade RAW control under one unified ISP-NPU pipeline.”

SPYGO19726 continues that, thanks to improved processing power and bandwidth, the Exynos 2600 imaging stack will also support 320-megapixel image capture from a single sensor or 108-megapixel streams from three sensors at once. The platform can simultaneously support images from four sensors. One possible use case would be to capture depth data from multiple sensors to accompany photo data from a primary sensor. This could be useful for depth-aware tone-mapping and focus and bokeh features.

Perhaps most exciting of all for mobile photographers is the promise of 108-megapixel RAW image capture at up to 30 frames per second, which is not only interesting from an action photography perspective, but high-resolution 14-bit RAW image capture at high speed can enable fascinating HDR and tone-mapping possibilities. There is also the possibility of per-object tone-mapping, provided that the imaging system can accurately detect specific objects, something theoretically easier with more processing power at its disposal.

As 8K video becomes more common, image signal processing pipelines must handle more video data, and the Exynos 2600 reportedly supports 8Kp60 HDR10+ and 4Kp120 recording.

As for when the rumored Exynos 2600 may find its way into actual smartphones is anyone’s guess, as there is no indication it will be part of the upcoming Galaxy S26 series devices. It is also worth considering how this might affect more than Samsung Galaxy smartphones, as Apple and Samsung are reportedly working together on triple-layer image sensors as part of Apple’s massive $600 billion investment in American manufacturing.

Image credits: Header photo by Samsung shows a graphic of the existing ISOCELL HP2 image sensor