One of the most essential pieces of technology that makes your phone’s camera work was created in 1974, and it hasn’t changed much since.
When you snap a photo with your smartphone, the camera captures light and converts it into electrical signals to build a digital image. But the Bayer filter—a red, green, and blue layer that sits above the sensor and adds color to your images—absorbs and wastes around 60 percent of that light before it can reach the sensor. To make a red pixel, the filter blocks and throws away blue and green light.
