Equipped with 16U, Xiaomi is exploring continuous optical zoom technology. Is there something new in mobile phone imaging?

As July is coming to an end, the battle among the super - premium models this year is also drawing to a close. Among the four domestic super - premium models, we can see that each manufacturer has made great efforts to improve the imaging performance. Just when these technologies are still fresh, industry insiders revealed that the Xiaomi 16 Ultra to be released early next year will be equipped with continuous optical zoom technology, which will take the long - range shooting performance of mobile phones to a new level.

(Image source: @Digital Chat Station)

To be honest, continuous optical zoom technology is not making its first appearance in the mobile phone market. However, no manufacturer has been able to perfect it. Can Xiaomi really lead the way in popularizing this technology across the market?

Continuous optical zoom is powerful, so why is it difficult to achieve?

First, we need to understand what continuous optical zoom technology is. Due to the limited internal space of mobile phones, the lenses installed in them are all fixed - focal - length lenses, which are commonly known as "prime lenses" in photography. As a result, flagship imaging mobile phones have to be equipped with three to four lenses to meet users' daily shooting focal - length requirements.

(Image source: Shot by Lei Technology)

So what are its advantages? We can get a general idea from its name: within the calibrated focal - length range, mobile phones can achieve truly lossless optical zoom shooting, especially during video recording, where the improvement in experience brought by this function is most obvious.

To achieve the "continuous zoom" operation of a camera zoom lens on a mobile phone, the internal lenses need to move back and forth continuously as users adjust the focal length. This may seem easy to solve, but it also brings a huge drawback: a significant increase in volume.

For example, the Nikon 24 - 70 F/2.8 lens is 126mm long (unextended) and weighs 805g, which is much longer and heavier than Nikon's own prime lenses in the same category. Although this example is not entirely rigorous, it at least shows that zoom lenses of the same specification are much larger in volume than prime lenses. For mobile phones with extremely limited internal space, this is almost impossible.

(Image source: Nikon official)

In addition, the more precise the mechanical structure, the more prone it is to problems. Mobile phones face a more complex environment. We often see camera operators taking great care of their lenses. If a lens is dropped on the concrete floor, it's basically useless. As our "constant companions", mobile phones are much more likely to be bumped than cameras. No one wants to buy a "fragile cannon".

In fact, many manufacturers have made grand promises in previous years. For example, OPPO and vivo. The former announced continuous optical zoom technology at its imaging technology press conference in 2021. Through a triple transformation in the new structure, internal construction, and algorithms, it achieved continuous optical zoom in the 85mm - 200mm focal - length range. However, as we all know, this technology disappeared after its release, as if OPPO had never announced it.

The latter directly installed this module on its concept phone, APEX 2020. It innovatively used a "four - group lens combination". With two groups fixed and two groups movable, it achieved both high - magnification continuous zoom and real - time focusing functions. More importantly, vivo managed to keep the thickness of this module at 6.2mm.

Unfortunately, five years have passed, and this technology still hasn't been put into practical use.

From the attempts of OPPO and vivo, we can see that continuous optical zoom technology is not as simple as we thought. Even if progress is made in the structure, subsequent issues such as algorithms and sensor calibration cannot be ignored.

In fact, many flagship mobile phone manufacturers have used algorithms to reduce the impact on the picture when switching lenses. However, no matter how perfect the algorithms are, they can't match the real "optical zoom". Continuous optical zoom technology will bring true ultra - long - range video capabilities to flagship mobile phones.

Secondly, continuous optical zoom also improves the photography experience. Currently, flagship mobile phones can only provide truly lossless optical shooting at fixed focal lengths. Other focal lengths are achieved through cropping and digital zoom technology. Continuous optical zoom will provide lossless image quality across an entire focal - length range. However, continuous optical zoom also faces many problems. One is the cost. High - precision slides, lens groups, and drive motors are all expensive, and the problem of shock resistance needs to be solved.

Another problem is the small aperture at the end of the focal - length range. The imaging algorithm needs to have extremely high compensation efficiency to avoid obvious changes in parameters such as brightness and contrast during video recording.

Due to these difficulties, a mobile phone executive publicly stated, "I don't want to waste time on this technology."

I don't want to comment on what this executive said, but one thing is certain: it will take a long time for continuous optical zoom technology to be installed on mobile phones and achieve good results.

(Image source: Shot by Lei Technology)

What worries me more is that if a manufacturer does manage to implement continuous optical zoom technology, will it disappear quickly due to various reasons?

This is not unfounded. Huawei's retractable lens and the variable aperture of Xiaomi and Nubia both disappeared after being used for one or two generations due to various reasons.

Besides continuous optical zoom, what other imaging tricks do mobile phone manufacturers have?

Considering various factors, I don't have high hopes for the Xiaomi 16 Ultra to be equipped with continuous optical zoom technology. However, mobile phone manufacturers won't stop "progressing". After all, without new selling points, who would buy new phones?

So, besides continuous optical zoom technology, what other imaging technologies are manufacturers preparing?

First up is the external lens. At MWC 2025 this year, Xiaomi launched a modular optical system. This integrated "lens" with an M43 sensor and an equivalent full - frame 35mm focal length can be connected to Xiaomi 15 series phones via magnetic attraction and uses Xiaomi's proprietary LaserLink technology for data transmission. By combining the higher quality of the sensor and lens with the computing power of the phone's AI ISP, it takes advantage of both to capture a photo.

(Image source: Shot by Lei Technology)

Compared with the compact periscope telephoto lens inside the phone, the external telephoto lens has an insurmountable advantage in image quality. Although the AI - powered ISP can use algorithms to "fill in" the missing details, algorithms are not omnipotent. Especially when it comes to following basic optical principles, no matter how powerful the digital zoom and "imaginative" algorithms are, they can't produce a more natural image than a real optical environment. The saying "the longer, the stronger" is not just empty talk.

More importantly, users with specific needs can choose to buy an external lens to meet their shooting requirements. This is a new way to extend the focal length of mobile phones and makes up for the limitations of algorithms in optics.

Of course, this is just a good start. Currently, both Xiaomi and vivo face the problem that external lenses are not easy to carry. How to optimize this in the future is a problem that manufacturers need to consider.

Secondly, further explore the potential of sensors. To be honest, mobile phone manufacturers replace sensors with more advanced ones every year. In terms of technology and parameters, the theoretical performance of new sensors is indeed much better than that of old ones. However, the key to sensors is algorithm calibration. Many manufacturers rush to deal with new sensors before fully unlocking the potential of old ones. This cycle is definitely not a good thing.

As a positive example, although the Huawei Pura80 series is equipped with an old - fashioned one - inch large - sensor that other manufacturers don't value, after careful calibration by Huawei, its imaging performance is comparable to, and in some aspects even better than, that of its competitors.

Another example is vivo. Although it uses a new sensor, it has reduced the number of lenses. The three sensors on the vivo X200 Ultra are all very large. The main camera and ultra - wide - angle camera both use the Sony LYT - 818. This means that vivo can obtain 28mm and 70mm focal lengths through lossless cropping (i.e., zooming in by a factor of two). In this way, vivo can offer five focal - length options with just three lenses, which is a good approach.

These are just my personal speculations. When these technologies will be mass - produced and become practical and user - friendly depends on which manufacturer takes the lead.

Conclusion

Anyway, the future of mobile phone imaging is definitely about simplification. Although having four or five rear cameras sounds impressive, the negative impacts also deserve our attention. If a manufacturer really manages to introduce continuous optical zoom technology, the number of telephoto lenses can be reduced from two to one, or even the main camera can be integrated into it. This is the kind of imaging flagship phone we want to see: "powerful and comfortable to hold".

Mobile phone imaging is still evolving and exploring, and this path will no longer be limited to simply piling on hardware or optimizing algorithms.

Manufacturers are constantly bringing professional technologies to consumer products, allowing the once - high - threshold professional experience to enter more people's lives. And as consumer products with these professional functions continue to "evolve", they in turn inspire professional applications, creating a positive two - way cycle.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Lei Technology" and is reprinted with permission by 36Kr.