Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has developed 10x zoom functionality, potentially integrating it into its upcoming F19 flagship smartphone’s camera as the company pushes to improve the fidelity of its imaging technology.
Oppo will use its hybrid zoom technology, which utilizes the smartphone’s three rear cameras to create higher quality zoomed images. Hybrid systems use software as well as multiple cameras with varying focal lengths to build an image that preserves fine details at a distance.
Current smartphones on the market feature up to 5x hybrid zoom though vendors including Huawei also have plans for 10x hybrid zoom capabilities. A higher number allows for increased zoom capabilities.
The details of Oppos’s new camera technology were leaked in a patent filing earlier this week. However, additional details have yet to be released.
“The development of this technology is almost mature,” a company spokesperson told TechNode, saying further details would be released in time.
The Chinese smartphone maker debuted its 5x zoom technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last year. The smartphone included two cameras, with one featuring a “periscope structure.” Packed into a 5.7-millimeter lens module for its smartphones, the company claimed the technology would increase its anti-shake performance by 40% and optical image stabilization by 200%. However, the 5x technology has yet to be commercialized.
To set themselves apart from their peers, Chinese smartphone companies have been on focused on improving the capabilities of their smartphone cameras. Huawei plans to launch its first flagship model featuring four cameras and 10x optical zoom technology “sometime next year,” Walter Ji, head of the company’s consumer business for Western Europe revealed last month.
At the same time, rival smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi took over popular selfie app Meitu’s smartphone business. With the selfie app maker’s photo enhancement technologies, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun seeks to draw more female users away from his competitors.