We’ve come full circle now. Smartphones have successfully killed the point-and-shoot cameras (although these are getting quite the love in TikTok circles, but that’s just a nostalgia hype) and now… now, we’re back where we started: to point and shoot cameras.
Just look at that thing:
Image credit – PhoneArena
That’s a Xiaomi concept phone.
Although, from a certain distance, it does look like a “standard” form factor camera and nothing like a phone. Who knew that one of the corniest dad jokes – “Hey, my camera can text and call” (applicable for describing camera-centric flagships like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and all other phones that are focused on their camera performance) – will become a reality.
A concept reality at the ongoing MWC (Mobile World Congress), at least.
However, that’s not a traditional lens mounted on a phone’s back. Be prepared to be blown away, because this “lens” is actually a standalone camera unit; there’s a sensor inside and the back of the lens is tightly sealed. The phone’s back is also sealed, no sensors are exposed like in a “regular” camera. These two attach to each other via strong magnets.
Look:
Image credit – PhoneArena
There are also two pins that are used for powering up the lens-camera module; there’s an additional hole in between which is for the data transfer – it’s called Xiaomi LaserLink Communication technology. It “transforms light data captured by the Light Fusion X Sensor” into “digital format” and transmits it as “near-infrared laser” to the smartphone.
Image credit – PhoneArena
This is pretty revolutionary stuff. Xiaomi clarifies it’s a Micro Four Thirds sensor (two times bigger than the 1-inch sensor type that’s considered “huge” for mobile devices) sitting behind a 35mm lens with a large f/1.4 aperture. This – a bigger sensor and a large aperture – should result in exceptional low-light photography and extremely pleasing portraits.
Image credit – PhoneArena
This combination accounts for the so-called bokeh, the term used to describe the aesthetically pleasing blurred out-of-focus areas which professional cameras and lenses can achieve. This is what the Portraits mode on your phone tries to imitate.
Image credit – PhoneArena
Once upon a time, we were happy that phone cameras got really advanced and made smaller cameras obsolete; the advantage is that you don’t need to bring along other things like extra lenses, filters, and whatnot.
Now, we’re back to square one: will the modular phone succeed this time? Motorola and others have failed, so will Xiaomi learn from their mistakes?
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