GoPro is celebrating a major milestone: selling over 50 million cameras worldwide since the launch of its iconic HERO camera in 2009. This translates to an average of roughly 3.33 million cameras sold each year for the past 15 years.

The company’s overall revenue shows an 8% decline compared to 2023

The company has capitalized on the action camera market, launching 20 different camera models that have each surpassed 1 million units in sales. This includes not just traditional action cameras but also 360-degree cameras, catering to a wider range of content creators.

However, GoPro’s financial performance paints a less rosy picture. Despite a 6% year-over-year increase in camera sales for 2023, reaching 3 million units, the company’s overall revenue of $1 billion (approximately 7.285 billion Yuan) represents an 8% decline compared to the previous year.

Adding to the concern is a net loss of $53 million (approximately 386 million Yuan) for 2023, a reversal from the net profit of $29 million recorded in 2022. This translates to a loss of $0.35 per share compared to a profit of $0.18 per share in the previous year.

A silver lining can be found in GoPro’s subscription and service revenue, which grew 18% year-over-year to reach $97 million (approximately 707 million Yuan) in 2023. This is an indicator of a potential growth area for the company as it seeks to diversify its revenue streams.

(Via)

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Samsung’s next flagship phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, is expected to come with one less camera than its predecessor. The Galaxy S23 Ultra had four rear-facing cameras, including two telephoto cameras, but according to reliable tipsters, the Galaxy S24 Ultra could have just three rear-facing cameras. The missing camera is rumored to be the 3x telephoto camera.

However, Samsung may have a new solution in mind, according to tipster Ice Universe. The company could be using a continuous periscope zoom lens that can zoom from 3x to 10x, similar to the telephoto camera module that LG showcased last year.

This would allow the single telephoto camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra to perform the job of both zoom cameras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Additionally, this new camera could offer better image quality with intermediate zoom ranges that were not possible with the previous camera setup.

Another possibility is that Samsung is confident in its 200MP primary camera, which could allow for 3x digital zoom, equivalent to 3x optical zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. This would eliminate the need for a separate telephoto camera altogether.

The removal of one camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra could offer a cleaner design on the rear of the phone and reduce clutter. However, it’s best to take this information with a pinch of salt as plans could always change before the phone’s official release.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is currently Samsung’s best camera phone, featuring four rear-facing cameras capable of recording 4K 60fps videos. Two of those cameras are telephoto cameras, offering unmatched zoom reach compared to rival phones.

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(Via)

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We are all aware that when Apple launches a new iPhone, not all of its specifications are made public. The business chose not to disclose the RAM specifications, whose hardware manufacturer’s products were utilised, or which camera sensors are present in the iPhones. Even if a third party usually reveals this specification, there are situations when we are in the dark about it. We all have a lot of unanswered questions about the iPhones, one of which is what kind of camera sensor they utilise. We now have official confirmation of it, so read this till the end to find out.

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, on its social media handles has posted a photo of him roaming around with a team of Sony cameras. He further reveals that Apple and Sony have been working on the cameras for over a decade. He posted an image which shows that the CEO of Sony, Kenichiro Yoshida, is making him explore the camera department of Sony. This confirms many users’ doubts, we can now finally say that – Yes, Sony’s camera sensors are used on iPhones.

Additionally, the manufacturer also makes the decision to withhold information on a variety of other parameters, including battery and chipset information. Fortunately, a supply chain expert has discovered that Corning manufactures the glass sheets that go on the front and back of iPhones. The majority of the time, Apple employs OLED panels from Samsung and LG displays. Furthermore, chips are undoubtedly based on the fabrication node of TSMC. One should not even question if it is Samsung’s node or TSMC’s based on the power consumption of their chipset.

The Sony-Apple agreement for camera hardware was, however, still largely unverified, and it appears that it won’t be ending anytime soon. According to some rumours, Sony is developing a new sensor that lets in more light while lowering the likelihood of under or overexposing the image. Of course, that sensor will be used in iPhone models in the future.

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The Realme X50 family already has three members. There is the Realme X50 Pro 5G, the Realme X50 5G, and the Realme X50m 5G. Yesterday, we reported that a fourth model called the Realme X50 Pro Player Edition is launching in a few weeks. A new leak has now revealed the full spec sheet of the upcoming phone.

The spec sheet was posted on Weibo by @Digital Chat Station and it shows that the device will come with downgraded cameras compared to the Realme X50 Pro 5G.

The Realme X50 Pro Player Edition will have a 6.44-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 2400 x 1080 resolution. The display will also have a double punch hole for two front-facing cameras.

Just like the Realme X50 Pro, the Player Edition will also have a Snapdragon 865 processor inside it. The leaker adds that it will pack 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Coming to the cameras, which is where the Realme X50 Pro Player Edition differs from the Realme X50 Pro, we have a 16MP + 2MP dual camera configuration in front, a downgrade from the 32MP + 8MP of the Realme X50 Pro.

The number of rear cameras remains unchanged, so you still get four sensors. However, the primary camera is a 48MP sensor, and there is no telephoto camera. However, the ultrawide angle camera is an 8MP sensor and you have two 2MP sensors.

There is a 4200mAh battery inside the device and it packs support for 65W fast charge. The Realme X50 Pro Player Edition will weigh 209 grams and measure 159 x 74.2 x 8.9 millimeters.

With respect to price, the phone is expected to sell for ¥3299 (~$465).

Realme said the phone will be announced on May 25 along with seven other products. We expect these other products include the Realme TV and the Realme Smartwatch too.

UP NEXT: Realme Buds Air Neo leak reveals entire specifications and design

(Source)

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Image sensors, especially ones with small pixels like in smartphones, feature an on-chip micro lens array to help guide all the arriving light to the sensor’s photo diode. Right now, each pixel gets its own lens, but Sony has developed a way for four adjacent pixels to share a lens. Compared to past tech, cameras will be twice as accurate when seeking focus. This system is enabled with the just-revealed Sony 2×2 On-Chip Lens Solution (OCL) for future mobile image sensors.

Sony first revealed their 2×2 OCL mobile camera tech two days ago and was described as follows: “The 2×2 On-Chip Lens (OCL) solution is a new image sensor technology for achieving high-speed focus, high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high dynamic range.” Where the best Sony Quad Bayer sensors had an on-chip lens for each individual pixel, this new solution uses one on-chip lens for each four adjacent pixel set.

EDITOR’S PICK: Redmi K30 for 1,599 Yuan (~$227) brings 120Hz display, SD765G and six cameras with Sony IMX686

The main advantage of this design setup will be improved autofocus performance, especially in the dark. PDAF (Phase detection autofocus) relies on focus pixels whose output is not part of the final image – which means they have to be spaced out, reducing the coverage. With 2×2 OCL, all pixels can be used as part of the focus detection system. This also solves a related issue where low horizontal detail negatively affects the AF system’s performance.

As for when it’s coming to consumers, don’t expect it too soon. The 2×2 On-Chip Lens Solution (OCL) was only revealed days ago. Sony did not specify where this newly-revealed tech would be released first. It’s not likely we’ll see this in early 2020 – but it wouldn’t be a bad bet to see it in smartphones in the latter half of the year.

UP NEXT: Huawei and Honor online market share exceeds Xiaomi, Vivo, Apple and OPPO in Q3 in China: Counterpoint report

(Source)

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Let’s travel back in time to early 2011 when the first phone with a dual-camera, the HTC Evo 3D, was announced. It had two 5MP cameras and the reason for the extra camera was so owners could use both cameras to capture stereoscopic 3D images to view on its 3D screen.

It has been eight years now and the highest number of rear cameras on a smartphone is now six and that record is held by the Nokia 9 PureView which has five 12MP cameras and a ToF 3D camera. This week one of the most anticipated phones will launch in China and its selling point is its cameras. This device is the Mi CC9 Pro and it will launch with five rear cameras which includes a telephoto camera, a portrait camera, an ultrawide camera, and a 108MP primary rear camera which is the highest resolution camera on a commercially available phone.

Five cameras is sure a lot of cameras to have on a device and it may become a trend seeing as quad-rear cameras were pretty popular this year. So, for this week’s poll, we are asking our readers “How many rear cameras are enough?”

Do take the poll and we will appreciate it if you shared your opinion about the phone industry’s craze with multiple cameras.

[yop_poll id=11]

UP NEXT: OnePlus 8 Pro renders reveal a punch-hole screen and quad rear cameras

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While using mobile device cameras, we have seen images with a halo effect. It can be seen on the images taken from any camera, and we can’t attach it to just smartphones. The halo effect is also present on SLRs, telescopes and other imaging devices. The halo effect is generated when a dark light spot is inclined toward the camera lens, and in response, it produces a ring-like effect around the light object. It happens when different wavelengths of light focus on the same point.

In other words, we can call this effect as a chromatic aberration, resulting in the purple halo effect. Well, the researchers at the Harvard have found a solution and has given a new “metacorrector” to rectify this issue.

The new processes comprise of a single layer surface of nanopillars, spaced less than a wavelength. It can be used to handle the phase, amplitude, and polarisation of the light. It is an effective way to minimize or fully eliminate the halo effect from images. It is quite cheaper and simpler method to correct chromatic aberrations.

It will help to years old correction technique to replace with new nanostructure engineering. It will help the images to be more refined and more precise without any purple halo effect. Although, it is a simple, efficient and cheaper method.

“You can imagine light as different packets being delivered at different speeds as it propagates in the nanopillars. We have designed the nanopillars so that all these packets arrive at the focal spot at the same time and with the same temporal width,” said Wei Ting Chen, a Research Associate in Applied Physics at SEAS and first author of the paper.

• Read More: Sony announces new IMX586 image sensor with 48-megapixel resolution

Now, conventional lenses limitations won’t affect the performance, and we can go beyond boundaries. We hope in the upcoming few years, and we will see it incorporated into the new imaging systems or products.  Now, the team is further refining this new tech, so that it can be used for miniature optical devices also.

(Via)

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News of Xiaomi’s launch event held yesterday has been flooding the internet and the device getting the most coverage is not even the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 but the Mi MIX ”concept” phone.

The Mi MIX is popular not because of its design; Sharp is sort of the pioneer in that aspect. But because it was unexpected. Totally unexpected. Nobody had heard of it not until yesterday. It’s production process must have been really top secret and I won’t be surprised if all those who worked on the project were asked to take an oath of secrecy. And now that it has been unveiled, the internet is gushing over it.

Fitted with a 6.4” display that feels like you are holding a 5.5” device in your hand due to the non-existent bezels on three of its sides, a snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB of RAM, either 128GB or 256GB of storage and an affordable price that starts at $516, what’s there not to love about the phone?

During the launch, quite a number of important details were skipped such as the supplier for the display and the cameras. Those details have however been revealed now. The 6.4” display is made by……Sharp. Yes, it is a Sharp display which means, Xiaomi not only got inspired by the Sharp Aquos Crystal but also got them to provide the display, although the Mi MIX looks better than the Aquos Crystal.

READ MORE: Meizu Pro 6S Will Officially Launch on November 3

And for the cameras, Xiaomi has turned to OmniVision to supply the sensors. The front camera is a 5MP ov5675 sensor with a 1.12 μm pixel size. The primary shooter is a 16-Megapixel 1-Micron OV16880  sensor with a sensor size of 1/3.06 inches. The sensor is built on OmniVision’s PureCel Plus-S stacked die technology.

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