Do you use your smartphone camera as your primary imaging device? If yes, then check out our comparison of the Sony IMX386 vs IMX378 sensors designed for smartphones. Why? it is because a lot of phones use them and have excellent imaging capabilities.
In today’s discussion, we will be talking about two of the well known Exmor series camera sensors. As most of you might already know, Exmor CMOS sensors are produced by Sony since 2008. Since then, Sony introduced many different families with different specification, specialty, and purpose. The list includes Exmor family, Exmor R sensor family, Exmor RS sensor family and Exmor imaging modules.
Related Reading: Budget Phones With Dual Rear Camera and Dual Lens in India
Sony IMX386 vs IMX378
In this post, we will be comparing Exmor RS IMX 378 and Exmor RS IMX 386. Moreover, we will also quick-review some smartphones in which these camera sensors are used so our readers can get a better idea. Both IMX 378 and IMX 386 come from Exmor RS sensor family. Exmor RS was announced by Sony back in 2012, which uses a stacked CMOS sensor. However, the pair we are talking about was released last year, IMX386 in July and IMX378 in September of 2016.
Since the release date is close, many people believe that there is not much difference in their performance, which is the half-truth. Following table represents a quick comparison of these two camera sensors in various terms. Have a look:
| Specification | Exmor RS IMX 378 | Exmor RS IMX 386 |
| Effective Resolution | 4056 x 3040 | 3968 x 2976 |
| Effective Pixels | 12.2 MP | 12 MP |
| Diagonal Sensor Size | 7.81 mm (1/2.3”) | 6.2 mm (1/2.9”) |
| Unit Cell Size | 1.55 μm | 1.25 μm |
| Output | MIPD D-PHY (4 Lane) | Not Specified |
| Sub-pixel Layout | RGB | RGB |
| Phase Detection Autofocus | YES | YES |
| Gyro Image Stabilization | YES | None |
| Release Date | September 2016 | July 2016 |
As the table clarifies, the IMX 386 and IMX 378 differ a lot in various aspects. There are the noticeable differences in resolution, effective pixels, sensor and cell size, output, etc. However, there are also some similarities. For example, both of them possess subpixel layout and phase detection auto-focusing technology. Considering that you are concerned about these sensors as smartphone buyers, this much information is quite enough. They both have their qualities and flaws. Moreover, they don’t affect the price of the smartphone on a large scale so that you can go with either one. Moreover, it also depends on the device manufacturer how they implemented it on their phones.
To make the task simple, we have compiled the list below that contains devices using IMX 386 and IMX 378 camera sensors. Hope this list will assist you to pick the right device that matches your requirements. Here we begin:
Smartphones with Exmor RS IMX386:
First, we are going to check out the phones with a Sony IMX386 imaging sensor. It is commonly found on a lot of mid to top range phones, especially from the house of Xiaomi and Huawei. Let’s check them out!
1. Xiaomi Mi Mix 2:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
| Platform | Android 7.1 Nougat OS Qualcomm MSM 8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset Octa Core CPU [4 @ 2.45 GHz, 4 @ 1.9 GHz] Adreno 540 GPU |
| Memory | 64 GB / 128 GB / 256 GB internal storage No memory card slot 6 GB / 8 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12 MP Primary, f/2.0, ½.9” sensor, 1.25 um pixel 5 MP secondary, f/2.0, 1080p |
| Camera Features | Phase detection autofocus, 4-axis OIS, Dual tone LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30 fps 1080p @ 30 fps 720p @ 120 fps |
| Display | IPS LCD Capacitive Touchscreen with 16M colors 5.99 inches / 92.6 cm2 1080 x 2160 resolution with 18:9 aspect ratio 403ppi pixel density, Multitouch support Corning gorilla glass 4 Protection |
| Battery | 3400 mAh battery capacity Non-removable lithium – ion battery |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE GPS with GLONASS, BDS, A-GPS NFC connectivity Type C USB reversible connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor on rear, accelerometer, gyroscope sensor, proximity sensor, compass, barometer |
| Body | 151.8 x 75.5 x 7.7 mm 185 g / 6.53 Oz |
2. Motorola Moto Z2 Force:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS Update for Android 8.0 Oreo is about to release Qualcomm MSM 8998 Snapdragon 835 Chipset Octa Core CPU [4 @ 2.35 GHz, 4 @ 1.9 GHz] Adreno 540 GPU |
| Memory | 64 GB / 128 GB internal storage Expandable up to 256 GB with dedicated card slot 4 GB / 6 GB RAM |
| Camera | Dual 12 MP primary, f/2.0, ½.9” sensor size, 1.25 um pixel size 5 MP secondary, f/2.2, dual tone LED flash |
| Camera Features | Laser + Phase detection autofocus, Dual tone LED flash, Geo-tagging, Touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30 fps 1080p @ 30 / 60 / 120 fps 720p @ 240 fps |
| Display | P-OLED Capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors 5.5 inches / 83.4 cm2 1440 x 2560 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 534ppi pixel density Multitouch support, shatterproof protection |
| Battery | 2730 mAh battery capacity Non-removable Lithium-ion battery |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, EDR, LE, AptX [Bluetooth 5.0 upgradable] GPS with A-GPS technology NFC connectivity Type C 1.0 USB reversible Connector USB on the go with magnetic connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint on the rear, Accelerometer, Gyroscope sensor, Proximity Sensor, Compass Barometer |
| Body | 155.8 x 76 x 6.1 mm 143 g / 5.04 Oz |
3. Xiaomi Mi Max 2:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
| Platform | Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS Qualcomm MSM 8953 Snapdragon 625 Chipset Octa Core CPU [2.0 GHz Cortex A53] Adreno 506 GPU |
| Memory | 32 GB / 64 GB / 128 GB internal storage Expandable up to 256 GB with dedicated card slot 4 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12 MP primary, f/2.2, ½.9” sensor, 1.25 um pixel 5 MP secondary with f/2.0 aperture |
| Camera Features | Phase detection autofocus, Dual tone LED flash, Geo-tagging, Touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30 fps 720p @ 120 fps |
| Display | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors 6.44 inches / 114.3 cm2 1080 x 1920 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 342ppi pixel density Multitouch support Corning gorilla glass 3 protection |
| Battery | 5300 mAh battery capacity Non-removable lithium – ion battery |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE GPS with GLONASS, BDS, A-GPS Infrared port, FM radio Type C 1.0 USB reversible connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint on rear, accelerometer, gyroscope sensor, proximity sensor, compass |
| Body | 174.1 x 88.7 x 7.6 mm 211 g / 7.44 Oz |
4. Huawei Honor 6X:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android OS 6.0 Marshmallow, upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat Hi-Silicon Kirin 655 Chipset Octa Core CPU [4 @ 2.1 GHz Cortex A53, 4 @ 1.7 GHz Cortex A53] Mali T830MP2 GPU |
| Memory | 32 GB / 64 GB internal storage Expandable up to 256 GB with dedicated card slot 3 GB / 4 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12MP + 2MP primary, ½.9” sensor, 1.25 um pixel 8 MP secondary with 1080p max resolution |
| Camera Features | Phase detection autofocus, LED Flash, Geo Tagging, Touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| Display | LTPS IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors, Multitouch support 5.5 inches / 82.6 cm2 1080 x 1920 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 403ppi pixel density |
| Battery | 3340 mAh battery capacity Nonremovable Lithium-ion battery |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, EDR, LE GPS with GLONASS, BDS, A-GPS FM radio, Micro USB 2.0 |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor on rear, accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass |
| Body | 150.9 x 76.2 x 8.2 mm 1662 g / 5.71 Oz |
5. Huawei Nova:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android OS 6.0.1 Marshmallow Upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat Qualcomm MSM 8953 Snapdragon 625 Chipset Octa Core CPU [2.0 GHz Cortex A53] Adreno 506 GPU |
| Memory | 32 GB internal storage Expandable up to 256 GB, uses sim 2 slot 3 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12 MP primary, 1/2.9” sensor size, 1.25 um pixel 8 MP secondary camera |
| Camera Features | Phase detection autofocus, LED Flash, Geo-tagging, Touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30 fps |
| Display | IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors 5.0 inches / 68.9 cm2 1080 x 1920 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 441ppi pixel density Multitouch support |
| Battery | 3020 mAh battery capacity Nonremovable Lithium Polymer Battery |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, LE GPS with GLONASS, A-GPS NFC connectivity, FM Radio Type C 1.0 reversible USB connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor on rear, accelerometer, Gyroscope sensor, Proximity sensor, compass |
| Body | 141.2 x 69.1 x 7.1 mm 146 g / 5.15 oz |
Smartphones with Exmor RS IMX378:
The Google Pixel is said to have one of the best smartphone cameras of 2016 flagships. Google choose the IMX378 on these devices and the results are outstanding for a phone camera. Let’s check out the phones which uses this sensor.
1. Google Pixel:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android OS 7.1 Nougat Upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821 Quad Quad-Core 2.15 GHz, 2 @ 1.6 GHz) CPU Adreno 530 GPU |
| Memory | 32/128 GB Internal Storage 4 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12.3 MP primary, 1.55 um pixel, f/2.0, ½.3” sensor 8 MP secondary, f/2.4, 1/3.2” sensor, 1.4 um pixel |
| Camera Features | Phase detection, Laser autofocus, Dual LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p at 30 fps 1080p at 30/60/120 fps 720pgeo-tagging |
| Display | AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 16 M colors 5.0 inches / 68.9 CM2 1080 x 1920 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio 441ppi density Corning gorilla glass 4 protection Multitouch support |
| Battery | Non removable 2770 mAh battery 456 Hours standby 26 hours talk time 110 hours music play |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS NFC USB 3.0 Type C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass, Barometer |
| Body | 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.5mm 143 g / 5.04 Oz |
2. Google Pixel XL:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android OS 7.1 Nougat Upgradable to Android OS 8.0 Oreo Qualcomm SM8996 Snapdragon 821 Chipset Quad-Core CPU [2 @ 2.15 GHz, 2 @ 1.6 GHz] Adreno 530 GPU |
| Memory | 32 / 128 GB internal storage 4 GB RAM |
| Camera | 12.3 MP primary, f/2.0, 1/2.3” sensor, 1.55 um pixel 8 MP secondary, f/2.4, 1/3.2” sensor, 1.4 um pixel |
| Camera Features | Phase detection, laser autofocus, dual LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p at 30 fps 1080p at 30/60/120 fps 720p at 240 fps |
| Display | AMOLED capacitive screen with 16M colors 5.5 inches / 83.4 cm2 1440 x 2560 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 534ppi pixel density, Multitouch support Corning gorilla glass 4 |
| Battery | 3450 mAh non-removable Li-ion battery 552 hours standby 32 hours talk time 130 hours music play |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, AptX GPS with GLONASS, A-GPS NFC function USB 3.0, type C reversible connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Body | 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm 168 g / 5.93 oz |
3. Xiaomi Mi 5s:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
| Platform | Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821 chipset Quad-Core CPU [2 @ 2.15 GHz, 2 @ 1.6 GHz] Adreno 530 GPU |
| Memory | 64 GB / 128 GB internal storage 3 GB / 4 GB RAM No memory card slot |
| Camera | 12 MP primary, f/2.0, ½.3” sensor, 1.55um pixel 4 MP secondary, f/2.0, 1/3” sensor, 2 um pixel |
| Camera Features | Phase detection-tagging, Dual tone LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face-smile detection, panorama, auto HDR |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30fps 1080p @ 120fps |
| Display | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors 5.15 inches / 73.1 cm2 1080 x 1920 resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio 428ppi pixel density Multitouch support |
| Battery | 3200 mAh Li-ion battery Non removable |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, AptX GPS with GLONASS, A-GPS NFC function USB 3.0, type C reversible connector |
| Sensors | Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass, Barometer |
| Body | 145.6 x 70.3 x 8.3 mm 145 g / 5.11 Oz |
4. Blackberry KeyOne:
Buy From Amazon Buy From Newegg
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Platform | Android OS 7.1 Nougat Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 chipset Octa Core 2.0 GHz Cortex A53 CPU Adreno 506 GPU |
| Memory | 32 GB / 64 GB internal storage 3 GB / 4 GB of RAM |
| Camera | 12 MP primary, f/2.0, ½.3” sensor, 1.55 um pixel 8 MP secondary, f/2.2, 1.12 um pixel |
| Camera Features | Phase detection autofocus, Dual tone LED flash, Geo-tagging, Touch focus, Face detection, HDR, Panorama |
| Video Resolution | 2160p @ 30 fps |
| Display | IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors 4.5 inches / 60.3 cm2 1080 x 1620 resolution with 3:2 aspect ratio 433ppi pixel density Multitouch support Corning gorilla glass 3 protection |
| Battery | 3505 mAh Battery capacity Lithium-ion non-removable battery |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR GPS with GLONASS, BDS2, A-GPS NFC connectivity, FM Radio USB 3.1 Type C reversible connector USB on-the-go |
| Sensors | Fingerprint Sensor, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Compass |
| Body | 149.1 x 72.4 x 9.4 mm 180 g / 6.35 Oz |
Conclusion:
We hope you like our article on Sony IMX386 vs IMX378 imaging sensors comparison. For feedback and suggestions, please use the comment section down below.
Hi,
Thank you for the nice article.
Is there any source of information about IMX386 and IMX378 sensors? maybe a Sony news article or specification file?
Thanks.
You can check it out from their official site here:
http://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/products_en/IS/sensor1/
You can check it out from their official website : http://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/products_en/IS/sensor1/
Thanks Indrajit for the link. However, I already checked their website for IMX386 and IMX378 specifically, I couldn’t find any info. I think I will try to contact them.