Xiaomi Develops Smartphone Camera With Retractable Telescopic Zoom Optics

Xiaomi claims to have developed a new system for retractable telescopic zoom optics for smartphones that should be compact enough to be integrated into small mobile devices. But it is still a prototype.

As Lei Jun, boss of Xiaomi, announced about the Chinese Twitter counterpart Weibo, the company has developed a new technology with the help of its own development department with which a zoom camera with a large aperture can be implemented in small devices such as smartphones.

Basically, the company has created retractable camera optics that are so small that they can be placed in smartphones. The system has a number of advantages: thanks to a larger aperture, it should be able to capture three times the amount of light. It also promises better image stabilization and 20 percent higher optical clarity.

Xiaomi’s new, retractable zoom camera technology is still in its infancy and thus at the prototype stage. The video published by Xiaomi obviously shows a developer device that looks like a normal smartphone on the front but has a construction from the 3D printer on the back.

In addition to Lei’s extensive promises regarding the capabilities of the new retractable zoom optics for smartphones, there are still some ambiguities regarding the new solution. The video already indicates that Xiaomi will have difficulties implementing the system in a thin form factor. Current smartphones are usually less than an inch thick so that you are very limited in terms of installation depth.

When and in which final devices the new retractable optical zoom camera from Xiaomi should be used, Lei left open for the time being.