LG Innotek is ready to put true optical zoom lenses in the next wave of flagship phones
by Allison Johnson from The Verge - All Posts on (#678EG)
The camera module uses a tiny, precise actuator to move the lens between 4x and 9x telephoto settings. | Image: LG Innotek LG's smartphone-making days may be over, but LG Innotek - a major supplier of mobile camera modules - is alive and well. It's introducing a new telephoto zoom camera module at CES 2023, offering true, continuous optical zoom. The company is partnering with Qualcomm to fast-track adoption of its new tech alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in upcoming flagship Android phones.
While most other long smartphone cameras use image-quality-degrading digital zoom to reach beyond their native focal length, LG's design uses moving lenses - much like a traditional DSLR camera lens - which preserves image detail. This camera module also uses a folded-optic design, also referred to as a periscope lens, keeping the overall size down. The result is a lens...