New HoloCoder Tech Could Boost Smartphone Cameras by Capturing More Light and Depth Data
Smartphone cameras have improved steadily over the years. Manufacturers keep finding ways to raise image quality. At the same time, they avoid making camera modules larger. Technologies such as LOFIC already help expand dynamic range. Now, a newer optical approach called HoloCoder aims to deliver another major upgrade. It may strengthen low-light photography, retain more detail in tough lighting, and even record depth information.
Most smartphone cameras rely on a Bayer filter. This colour-filter array sits above the image sensor. It lets the sensor capture red, green and blue data for colour photos. However, the filter also blocks a large amount of light. A WIRED report notes that the filter can absorb and waste around 60 percent of incoming light before it reaches the sensor. For example, a red pixel only accepts red light while the filter blocks green and blue wavelengths.
Boston-based optics company Metalenz has now acquired Israeli startup PxE Holographic Imaging. The startup developed HoloCoder. The technology places a microscopic optical layer directly on top of an image sensor. As a result, the layer diffracts and redirects light waves toward the sensor’s pixels instead of absorbing unwanted light. Metalenz claims this method can let a sensor collect up to 2.5 times more light. Therefore, smartphones that adopt it could see clearer low-light photos and videos. The extra light may also help cameras keep more detail in high-contrast scenes. These include sunsets or selfies shot against a bright window, where ordinary sensors often lose highlights or shadows.
HoloCoder may also capture 3D depth information along with colour data. Typical smartphone cameras depend on secondary lenses, dedicated depth sensors or software processing to estimate distance. In contrast, HoloCoder combines light and depth sensing in a single optical layer. According to the company, this can reduce the need for extra components. Consequently, phone makers could simplify camera hardware, save space and cut processing demands.
Metalenz CEO and co-founder Rob Devlin told WIRED that software improvements have limits when the sensor fails to capture enough light. He noted that Apple, Samsung and Google continue to invest heavily in computational photography. However, software cannot fully recover light information that the colour filter has already discarded. Additionally, Metalenz is working with Qualcomm on Polar ID. This facial biometric system for Android uses polarisation data. It aims to compete with Apple’s Face ID and is expected to reach consumer devices by the end of 2027. Meanwhile, HoloCoder has not yet reached commercial devices.
In short, HoloCoder offers a hardware-level path to better smartphone photography by capturing more light and depth data in one layer. Phone makers may soon gain a practical way to improve cameras without enlarging modules or relying solely on software.
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