The camera, the eye of the smartphone, has become a hallmark feature that distinguishes each brand. There is fierce competition to incorporate more and larger camera lenses to enhance smartphone camera performance. Collaborations with world-class lens companies like ZEISS are common to achieve this goal. Additionally, brands are creating unique identities with the design of “camera islands,” where multiple lenses are clustered together.
According to a tech industry insider, Chinese smartphone manufacturers are significantly enhancing camera performance to capture consumer attention. Meanwhile, Samsung and Apple, the global leaders, are emphasizing unique designs. As overall smartphone performance has become more uniform, camera quality has become a crucial factor in consumer choice.
Recent bar-shaped smartphone designs feature large camera islands, making distinguishing between the camera and the device challenging. High-performance features, such as 200-megapixel cameras and 10x optical zoom, have increased the physical space occupied by the camera. Image sensors have also grown, reaching 1 inch, previously exclusive to professional digital cameras.
Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei, and Vivo are launching new products with substantial camera islands. They particularly promote cameras co-developed with optical lens giants such as ZEISS and Leica. For instance, the Vivo X100 Ultra, released in July, boasts a 200-megapixel telephoto lens, a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens. Its large camera island occupies over one-third of the back and features a main camera with a 1-inch image sensor. Vivo calls it a “200-megapixel ultra-telephoto camera” in collaboration with lens company ZEISS.
Similarly, Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra, launched in February in collaboration with Leica, includes four lenses and a wide camera island. It features a 1-inch image sensor, which is standard for digital cameras.
Huawei’s flagship Pura 70 Ultra, released in April, includes innovative moving lenses. The main 50-megapixel camera’s collapsible lens retracts when not in use, protecting it.
“Chinese smartphone brands, which are weaker in design, are striving to differentiate themselves with superior camera performance,” a tech industry insider said.
In contrast, Samsung and Apple are concentrating on arranging camera lenses. The lens configuration impacts the angle of view and shooting angle. The shape and layout of the lens array are now key design elements.
Samsung, for example, arranges its lenses in a straight line—ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto—ensuring each shooting mode operates with the lenses above and below it. This design choice minimizes changes in the angle of view, enhancing user convenience. “We chose the straight arrangement based on a combination of optical characteristics, design aspects, and space efficiency,” said a Samsung representative.
