Tecno Unveils World’s First Liquid Zoom Camera for the Phantom X

At its recent Future Lens event in Shanghai, Tecno unveiled three groundbreaking technologies expected to feature in upcoming Phantom X camera phones.

One of the highlights is Tecno’s distinctive W-shaped adjustable aperture, inspired by the eye of a cuttlefish. This innovative design aims to reduce glare in challenging lighting environments, such as strong backlight.

The concept is intriguing, and there’s considerable anticipation about the specific sensor and lens combination Tecno will pair with this W-shaped shutter in their future devices. Check out the shutter in action below.

Tecno also revealed a first-of-its-kind in the industry: a liquid telephoto macro lens. While liquid lens technology has been seen before, its incorporation into a periscope module is unprecedented. Periscope lenses, due to their size, typically face challenges in achieving macro focusing within the confines of a traditional two-section housing.

Tecno’s innovative design employs voltage to alter the curvature of the lens, enabling it to seamlessly switch from wide to narrow focus, thus achieving a macro focusing distance as close as 5cm. This liquid lens technology also permits the use of larger sensors, which is a significant advantage.

Currently, most smartphones utilize their ultra-wide cameras for macro shots. However, the wide perspective of these cameras often results in considerable image distortion. Tecno’s approach, utilizing a longer focal length with a periscope zoom, represents a more authentic approach to macro photography, potentially offering higher-quality, distortion-free images.

Tecno further elaborated on its Universal Tone technology during the event. This technology leverages three AI-powered engines to enhance skin tones in photographs. The Multi-Skin Tone Restoration Engine utilizes a color spectral matrix, developed through extensive research on skin color chromatics, to calibrate and adjust skin tones accurately.

The Local-Tuning Engine plays a crucial role in identifying individuals within a scene and tweaking tone mapping to produce more vivid and striking images. The process concludes with the Computational Portrait Engine, which adds an aesthetically pleasing finish to the portraits.

While Tecno hasn’t specified which upcoming products will debut the liquid lens and W-shaped aperture, the Phantom X camera phone series seems a likely candidate. There’s hope that these technological advancements will be showcased at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) early next year, offering a firsthand look at these innovations.