Huawei to use liquid lens in its 2021 flagships

27 November 2020
It can match the focusing time of the human eye.

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  • AnonD-864404
  • X%x
  • 28 Nov 2020

Well, can I expect this liquid in Midrange... or even in entry level?

    • G
    • Goodman
    • uQ5
    • 28 Nov 2020

    A lot of intelligent Chinese work in USA. Many of them are going back to China due to trump.

      Probably we will see this on P50 Pro Plus Premium Ultra Rare Ultimate Special Edition along with Kirin over 9000.

        • B
        • Ben Chan
        • t7L
        • 28 Nov 2020

        What do mean by Liquid Lens? , is that like a water?

          • H
          • Honor
          • nCi
          • 28 Nov 2020

          Without Google apps/GMS, Huawei phones will be dumb AS lunia phones

            Anonymous, 27 Nov 2020AF on phones are no near real cameras. A9ii is way much f... moreXperia 1 II is not the fastest at AF.
            It's the Huawei sensor or the IMX 689.

              • B
              • Bob
              • uIR
              • 28 Nov 2020

              Anonymous, 28 Nov 2020no its the IP theft and 5G concerns though its ironic co... moreSince Huawei could get the patents, it's their intellectual property, their innovation. Certainly, is not IP theft from US. Please have your critical thinking & living wisdom.

                JDK, 28 Nov 2020I thought that huawei downgraded the sensor(40MP to 20MP)? ... moreThe sensor is a downgrade in terms of pixel size, but since it now shoots photos at 20MP instead of 10MP it's better suited for wider field of view (of Mate 40 Pro+'s 14mm equivalent UWA lens).

                  s-pen pusher, 28 Nov 2020liquid lens was invented way back in 1993, and the process ... moreThanks for a detailed informative explanation, it was actually a good read :)

                    liquid lens was invented way back in 1993, and the process it uses called "electrowetting" was conceptualized way back the late 1800s.

                    i'm not saying this is not a huawei innovation, but the technology was invented way back in 1993 and the concept was discovered way back late 1800s. there may have been different implementations on how to make the technology work and that was what huawei patented last year (2019). from the patent application though it looks no different from what was first used in 1993- a hydrophobic liquid (possibly an oil) is suspended in water and the liquids are sandwiched in glass, then the lens is bound by a conductive metal ring; the hydrophobic liquid changes shape by running an electric current on the conductive metal ring.

                    the reason liquid lenses has not been used extensively in cameras is the volume of liquids that can be effectively used- it basically is a drop of the hydrophobic liquid, which is not much to cover the dimensions of even a point-and-shoot camera image sensor. so, the application to smartphone cameras is what huawei has innovated on (smartphone image sensors are around a fourth of the size of full-pledged cameras). it makes perfect sense in small sensors because, as described, it eliminates the need for multiple lenses and moving lenses to achieve optical zoom.

                      Vasra, 27 Nov 2020I've been waiting for these ever since I first read ab... moreliquid lens was invented way back in 1993, and the process it uses called "electrowetting" was conceptualized way back the late 1800s.

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                        • Forhad1000
                        • X%x
                        • 28 Nov 2020

                        Vasra, 27 Nov 2020I've been waiting for these ever since I first read ab... moreWTF !!! 2004 !?

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 6QH
                          • 28 Nov 2020

                          New technology we are waiting to see liquid lens. Hope for better features

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • TLP
                            • 28 Nov 2020

                            [deleted post]no its the IP theft and 5G concerns

                            though its ironic coming from the USA lol, but China isnt exactly the good guy either no matter how much their media and supporters say so

                              hmm... I wonder from which Western corporation did Huawei steal this IP?

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • Kec
                                • 28 Nov 2020

                                Anonymous, 27 Nov 2020Iphone has better innovation than Huawei, look at latest tr... moreReally? I like to hear more supportive evidence of that especially recent models and series which are behind those from Android

                                  • J
                                  • JDK
                                  • ybx
                                  • 28 Nov 2020

                                  Shui8, 27 Nov 2020Huawei patented it way before Mate 20 released. Almost put ... moreI thought that huawei downgraded the sensor(40MP to 20MP)?

                                  Please correct me as huawei may have increased the pixels, but I looked at the specs and it says nothing about the sensor size increasing.

                                  So do they have to downgrade the quality to acheive a free-form lens? If so, they may have to downgrade it again for the liquid lens.

                                    Shellyman Infinity, 27 Nov 2020I came up with this idea last week. Damn!You couldn't keep it a secret.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-909757
                                      • pZQ
                                      • 27 Nov 2020

                                      OhNom, 27 Nov 2020Samsung and LG are working on these types of screen, first ... moreThat's why I always make long comments, somehow, when I do short comment, there is always someone who don't understand.

                                      Basically :
                                      But what about :
                                      *No punch hole.
                                      *No notch.
                                      *No underdisplay camera
                                      And flat display.
                                      For once ?

                                      I DON'T want underdisplay camera, for tons of reasons.
                                      I WANT motorized pop up which offer privacy that underdisplay camera is literally threatening to disappear.


                                      Phones are NOT waterproof, they have only some degree of water resistance, and they don't need IP certification to have water resistance.
                                      In fact, if you compare two phones sold around the same number, you'd find that more IP67 and IP68 phones have been water damaged/bricked than any non IP rated phones with pop up.
                                      For three main reasons :

                                      First, smartphones with pop up are already more than water resistant enough for accidental drop in water and can operate under rain, mainly phones like the Poco F2 Pro who actually have an IP rating, a IP53 rating which is for operation under rain.

                                      Second, peoples with IP rated phones tend to think their phones are submarines, and many got surprised when their phone get damaged or destroyed only to find out that no brand cover water damage.
                                      It is only because of this behaviors that those phones have problem with water, like peoples stating that pop up phones can have issues if they drop, which require you to both have your pop up open and drop your phone, and the pop up have showed excellent resilience against drops, you really need a poor discipline to break a pop up that way.

                                      Third, IP rating is WAY LESS efficient as you imagine it to be, it is ideal for stuff like outdoor camera that have to handle rain, or an outdoor outlet that would have to survive an accidental and short flood, or a in-shower speaker that need to handle splashes and water pressure jet, but it is not and have never been for use under water.
                                      If anything, ATM rating is the one phones should have for that, also, IP rating is clearly not smartphones for many reasons, not only it is only few randomly selected devices that are tested, but it is done in laboratory conditions and with tap water with brand new devices.
                                      It isn't repeatable and doesn't take into consideration any of the wear the joint have from everyday use, nor the damage salt or chlorine in water will do, you can still have defective phone.
                                      And in the end, the brand may just tell you to buy a new phone, if water was my concern, I'd take a non-IP rated phone from a brand that cover water damage over any IP rated phones.
                                      There are probably non-IP rated phones that might have a better water resistance capability than any IP rated phones.
                                      Think about it, reputation is important, but why would they not cover water damage then but go as far as putting water damage sticker ?
                                      There is one simple explanation, it would cost them too much, because way more IP rated phones get liquid damaged/destroyed than you think that it wouldn't be profitable to replace them over having a better reputation and a selling argument, and don't underestimate how reputation is important, just look at how much expenses Red Bull do to get an idea.

                                      Pop up are great, they are fine, they are extremely rarely having issues, it is hard to find reports of pop up having issues, and we are over 2 years into them, many peoples change their phones every 3 years, you'll find way more display, battery or electronic related issues than pop up related issues, wear isn't an issue as it will last more than other key components of the phone, they are extremely reliable, and they almost never have any dust or water related issues.

                                      All those are myths peoples created by fear and that are totally far from the reality, even today that pop up have proven their reliability and that their advantages outweigh by far any potential issues they could have, peoples still talk about them as they did speculate when they originally appeared.

                                      And all that is without even talking about electromagnetic actuation our outside mounted pop up that would remove any moving parts and could make the pop up literally totally able to give you real waterproof (and not just water resistance) from in its location.

                                      The pop up was one of the greatest modern feature, it could have replaced all those stupid punch hole and notches, it was made for that, it was going to happen, but the only thing that went wrong is peoples starting to write all those totally fear based things and who started to switch from expressing a concern over the possibility of a problem to stating it was an issue while it actually wasn't at all.
                                      Most will talk about the pop up as if, if it was to break, your phone would explode, and that anything other than handling it the way you handle nitroglycerin would shatter it into pieces.
                                      It have been put under water, operated under water, thrown at the ground (not just dropped), slammed, used as a bottle opener, used to life weight, used in highly dusty environments, and cycled 300,000 times and not showing any sign of weakening what so ever.
                                      Not only it proved to be extremely resilient, but in the most brutal of those tests, it even survived over more important parts of the phones like the display or the electronic.
                                      And we are still, two and a half year after that when it proved to work pretty well, having to deal with it becoming still increasingly more rare because peoples can't just stop spreading those myths.

                                      You can't complain about both punch hole and pop up, either you join the fearmonger camp and think the pop up will kill your phone 1 hour after you get it, or you look at the real world and actual reports and how it handle and realize that it isn't that bad.

                                      Finally, the reason why I criticize punch holes and notches while not criticizing bezels, that I personally would only choose as a last available option.
                                      Is because both punch holes and notches have invaded the market with over 95% of phones having either of those while being invasive feature, which mean, unlike a 3.5mm Jack which isn't invasive as you can simply ignore it and perfectly use your phone regardless, you can't with punch holes and notches.
                                      The pop up is quite rare, and doesn't need even further criticism, it is literally a perfect exemple of "if you don't want it, just don't buy it" as the majority of other phones already have something else.
                                      What we need isn't ONE single "best" feature, we need DIVERSITY, the chance for everyone to choose its exact set of feature he want and not revert back to something that might have less than half the key features someone want.
                                      This mean having all punch hole, notches, bezel, pop up and also underdisplay camera, but NOT any being anywhere near and certainly not over 50% of all phones unless it is a totally non intrusive feature without alternatives like the 3.5mm Jack.

                                        Hoping that they will have their own OS and apps store so then I will buy their phone. I'm fed up with Samsung that keeps copying the business strategy of Apple.

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