Vivo’s telephoto extender makes the world’s best phone camera better
- Vivo has launched its X200 Ultra flagship phone with an impressive camera system, featuring a custom-made 2.35x telephoto extender lens.
- The phone’s existing 3.7x telephoto lens can be combined with the new extender for a total of 8.7x optical zoom, equivalent to a 200mm lens.
- Vivo’s design approach is unique, attaching a custom-made lens that magnetically snaps onto the phone’s back, rather than full-size DSLR lenses like Realme’s concept.
- The X200 Ultra already boasts one of the best camera systems in any Android phone, thanks to Vivo’s long-running partnership with Zeiss and its growing reputation for crafting high-quality cameras.
- Vivo’s move is seen as a natural extension of its brand strategy, building on its expertise in camera technology and cementing its position as a leader in the market.
When Xiaomi and Realme both rocked up to February’s Mobile World Congress with concept smartphones featuring attachable camera lenses, Vivo’s executives must have had a quiet chuckle knowing they were ready to launch the real thing just two months later.
Its flagship X200 Ultra went on sale in China a few weeks ago. Even by itself, it’s probably the best camera phone in the world right now, but it’s made even better by a unique accessory: a custom-made 2.35x telephoto extender lens, which attaches to the phone’s existing 3.7x telephoto for a total of 8.7x optical zoom, or the equivalent of a 200mm lens. It sounds (and looks) absurd, but it’s arguably a natural move for Vivo, which has built its brand around a long-running partnership with Zeiss and a growing reputation for crafting some of the best camera systems in any Android phone.
From a design standpoint, Vivo has split the difference between the two concepts I saw in Barcelona earlier this year. Realme imagined attaching full-size DSLR lenses on a phone’s existing camera, and Xiaomi pitched a custom, compact lens with its own built-in sensor that could magnetically snap onto a phone’s back.
Vivo echoed Xiaomi in cre …
Read the full story at The Verge.