Samsung's new sensor will bring 'portrait mode' to cheaper phones

If you're a fan of the blurred background "portrait mode" shots taken on phones like the Apple iPhone or Samsung Note 8, get ready for way more smartphones to be capable of this in the near future.

And the good news is, a lot of them are likely to be a lot more affordable than Apple and Samsung's pricey flagships.

On Wednesday, Samsung, which also supplies phone parts to other makers, announced a new 12 megapixel image sensor chip that comes with a dual pixel design.

Those split pixels are key to generating that depth photo effect — and with a single lens, instead of the two lenses we see with the iPhone Plus versions and Note 8. Read more...