Opinion: Should mobile brands stop using 2MP macro sensors?

Interestingly, smartphone makers are still using "2MP" macro sensors to complete their camera setups in 2022. But, is it really that useful? For me, the answer is BIG no. Here's why?

Some modern smartphones with a 2MP macro sensor

Reasons why mobile brands should stop using the 2MP macro sensor?

1. It isn't that really capable - Even in the high-end segment, the extra 2MP sensor doesn't really produce amazing images. Most of the time, even in broad daylight, the quality is "just okay" or sometimes it is still very grainy.

Usable, but it is grainy even in daylight

For indoors and low light, it is almost not usable (unless you really want a close-up shot and you don't care if it will look good or bad).

Indoor macro sample from a PHP 30K phone

You will likely notice that the quality of your macro shots is inferior to your wide or ultra-wide cam.

2. It is just a filler sensor - Let's be honest. Brands are only using this sensor for marketing. With the help of this sensor, they can say that they have "dual, triple, and even quad-camera configurations" even if the only good shooter in that setup is the primary wide camera.

It is a sensor that you will rarely use. In short, it is near useless.

Imagine getting a phone with a 200MP camera paired with a 2MP macro camera? Very balanced right? /s

3. They could have used the space it occupies for other things - No need to explain this. They could have used the space for other things.

Ultra-wide cam with macro mode sample

4. It could make the device even more affordable - The excuse of some on why they just used a 2MP macro helper is to keep the price of the phone low even if it has 2 or 3 cameras.

But, did you know that those brands could even make the phones more affordable if they decided to omit the said shooter?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against macro photography for phones. In fact, I want the experience to be better. This is why I'm against the use of the said low-quality shooter phones.

If they want more aspiring mobile photographers to take macro shots, improve the quality of macro modes.

Telemacro sample

Personally, I'm liking the implementation of the macro mode on the Nothing Phone (1). It has only two cameras (wide and ultra-wide), but its ultra-wide camera at 48MP has a macro shooting capability.

The Nothing Phone (1) is a dual-camera phone that can do what most quad-camera phones can do

We also saw this similar type of setup on the Mate 30 a few years back (16MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle w/ 2.5cm macro).

The telemacro on other mid-range to premium Xiaomi/POCO phones is also quite nice. Apple also made high-quality close-up shots without using a separate macro shooter.

They could also use a decent quality tele lens that could be used for taking close-up images.

On budget phones, getting a macro cam is acceptable for me. But on mid-rangers and higher-end handsets, no.

How about the 2MP depth sensors? For me, it would have been better if they used a larger sensor, but it is more acceptable than the 2MP macro cam. Why? Most of the time, the depth sensor is designed to assist the main camera when taking portrait shots. So, the quality of your shot won't degrade.

Do you agree with me?