Vivo’s latest external smartphone lens kit. (Image source: Notebookcheck)
Some premium smartphones might whittle their rear camera counts down to as little as two in the future. They might still be able to compete with more lens-rich flagships with the addition of new external lenses, though. The new accessories will enhance mobile photography while avoiding the addition of much bulk, apparently.
Earlier leaks have pointed to the prospect of custom external lens kits for smartphones such as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, Vivo X300 Ultra, Xiaomi 16 Ultra or their successors. Now, the concept has been fleshed out a bit more in a new tip.
It suggests that the new accessories could finally allow mobile device OEMs to depart from maxed-out designs to house the sheer number of lenses involved, most recently culminating in camera hump monsters such as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra or Nubia Z70 Ultra.
Instead, these external lenses could simply clip onto the back of a device to elevate it to flagship quality.
They are also apparently intended to be “lightweight” and magnetic, for a convenient MagSafe (or PixelSnap) approach to instantly upgraded mobile photography at need.
The accessories might be made by the established camera brands that already sponsor some Android camera flagships, such as Leica, Zeiss and Hasselblad.
They might initially be intended for flagships such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra or Oppo Find X10 Ultra, but might trickle down to premium mid-rangers that have already moved on to dual-camera layouts.
Those sub-flagship handsets potentially ripe for optional enhancement might include successors to the Honor 400, Oppo Reno14Â or Vivo V50 lines.
The Vivo V50 Rose Red: now starting at INR 32,999 on Amazon.in.
Deirdre O Donnell – Senior Tech Writer – 8614 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.