he Sony IMX586 uses what is called a Quad-Bayer pattern to accommodate 48 million RGB pixels in the 1/2-inch sensor. That’s as high as it can go for smartphones at present. Now, to capture colour, camera sensor requires what is called a Bayer filter on top of the photosensitive element. The Bayer filter consists of square colour filters, with each square assigned for a specific colour — Either red, green or blue. The red filter block will only allow red light to pass, and similarly, the blue filter will only allow blue to pass. Once the colours are filtered using the Bayer Filter, they are restored by the ISP to bring you the bright, colourful and vibrant images you like.
In case of the Sony IMX586, the Quad-Bayer array and the photosensitive element below it can deliver data straight out of the hardware independently requiring no software interpolation. The Samsung sensor also uses the Quad-Bayer array on top of the photosensitive element, however, the GM-1 breaks each Red, Blue and Green pixel into four smaller pixels (of each) which allows it to output an image with an effective resolution of 48 megapixels.
