Variable aperture, which once was a digital SLR and mirrorless camera thing has now arrived in smartphones. Every year, smartphone manufacturers look for several advancements in the camera system of smartphones. Similarly, we first saw the variable aperture introduced by Samsung in the Galaxy S9 smartphone. Sony also took it ahead with its Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III smartphones. Now, the Chinese phone maker Huawei seems to join the variable aperture industry as a new Huawei patent named “Aperture, Camera module and Electronic Device” was found online.

Huawei has filed the patent with World Intellectual Property Organization(first discovered by LetsGoDigital) and it showcases the working of the variable aperture lens. The aperture blades on the sensor open up to get as much natural light when needed and shrinks when there’s already plenty of light available.

Interestingly, the patented images have been brought into 3D renders by the designer Technizo Concept. These images show the camera lens and the 3D model of a smartphone. However, it doesn’t really reveal any details regarding the variable aperture in particular.

Anyway, moving back to the patent, Huawei’s variable aperture lens seems to have six blades. The aperture range will evidently vary but the exact range is yet to be known. Samsung had an aperture range of f/1.5 and f/2.4 and had eight blades. Also, it had the variable aperture only for a single lens.

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This changed when recently a new Samsung phone was spotted with a variable aperture on all the lenses. It was seen with a variable aperture for the wide-angle lens, ultra-wide-angle sensor, and even for the telephoto zoom lens. As of now, Huawei hasn’t revealed which sensors it decides to implement the variable aperture technology.

According to the 3D concept renders, the device has a wide-angle lens, an ultra-wide-angle sensor, a mono lens, a telephoto lens, and a 3D ToF sensor. While this is just a concept, the actual device may come with similar camera sensors. Anyone or some of these lenses may have a variable aperture.

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Huawei Technologies, one of the leading electronics device makers from China hosted a new product launch event in Zhuhai. At the event, Duan Aiguo, President of Huawei’s Machine Vision announced three new technologies along with new products.

The company released SuperColor, SuperCoding, and AI Turbo technologies as well as a new generation of cameras. The newly launched “Cube” is a binocular full-color AI tube camera that combines RGBW super-sensitive sensor, DNN ISP real-time video noise reduction, AI HDR full target enhancement, and Deblur to remove motion smear.

The AI Ultra-Light Camera 2.0 comes with an upgraded algorithm and recognition is more accurate through the deep learning network algorithm. The smart supplementary light is also upgraded and the intensity is automatically adjusted round the clock.

There’s also AI Dual-Spectrum Thermal Imaging Camera 2.0 that achieves longer distance and earlier firework detection, and the firework detection distance is doubled after the computing power is upgraded.

The Eco Camera 2.0 supports a combination of multiple power distribution methods with stronger power storage capacity, more flexible remote on-demand wake-up, and a wider sensing range.

Intelligent Video Storage IVS3800 2.0 uses SuperCoding technology to store more valuable data and has large-scale elastic EC technology that relies on AI Turbo’s four-in-one fully structured algorithm. On the other hand, the Intelligent Video Storage IVS1800 2.0 relies on the Huawei Cloud AI market using SuperCoding technology.

The Holographic Interaction Solution 2.0 supports the acquisition of all elements of the machine, non-human, and human, and rationally optimizes signal control. It also adapts to multiple intersection forms such as Cross, T-Shaped, X-Shaped, Y-Shaped, Overpass, and Super-Large Intersection.

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It is now turning into a yearly ritual that Huawei would be busted each year trying to promote its smartphone’s camera prowess with images shot on DSLR cameras. The Chinese tech giant recently promoted a photography contest with a video featuring impressive pictures that Huawei claimed were “taken with Huawei smartphones.” However, some of the pictures weren’t actually captured by a Huawei phone camera but were shot on a DSLR camera.

The controversial images were among image featured in a promotional video for Huawei’s photography contest in China. However, Weibo user Jamie-hua, aka Huapeng Zhao who won second place in the 2018 iPhone Photography Awards with a photo taken with an iPhone 6 thought some of the photos looked like what he had seen before and decided to fact check. He then discovered that two of the photos were shot by a Nikon D850 DSLR camera valued at $3,000.

Credit for the two contentious photos was given to photographer Su Tie. The photographer has worked in partnership with Huawei in the past. We recall a similar controversy in January 2019 when the company released some samples shot in the artic by Su Tie that was purportedly from the Mate 20X’s shutter. Some of the pictures were later discovered to have been shot by a Nikon DSLR camera.

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Huawei has since apologized on Weibo, saying that the photos were “wrongly marked” due to “an oversight by the editor.” It said the images were intended to encourage people to share their works on Huawei’s online gallery. The company has now updated the original video to remove the line that says the photos came from Huawei phones. It still says they were drawn from Huawei’s Next-Image community, though. When asked, a Huawei representative referred us to the contest rules in Chinese, which state that “you can publish photos taken with any equipment in the Next-Image community.

However, this incident brings to memory, Huawei’s infamous DSLR deceitful camera sample used in promoting the Huawei P9. Sometime around July 2016 when Huawei was promoting its P9 flagship, the company shared a photo on its Google+ page which was purportedly captured by the P9’s dual rear shutters. The photo was indeed stunning just like these ones, with crisp clear details downright impressive for a smartphone camera. Unfortunately, it turned out the shot wasn’t taken by a smartphone camera but was actually from a $4,500 Canon EOS 5D Mark III shutter. Huawei may not have any phone camera on the same level with a DSLR camera, but the company is edging closer to that standard employing an innovative camera and AI technology. The company’s new P40 Pro flagship ranks as the best phone in terms of camera, according to DXOMark.

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(source)

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Earlier today, Huawei officially confirmed that the P40 series will be released globally via an online event on March 26. The company’s P-series has always been a special lineup for tech enthusiasts across the world as the brand has upped the bar in smartphone photography every year. This year’s P40 series is even more special. Rivals like Xiaomi, OPPO, and even Samsung have upgraded the camera departments on their 2020 flagships. And Huawei will have to prove that it’s still the best in the business by surpassing these top-end camera flagships!

I know we are all looking forward to the new P40 Pro and we’ve got some juicy details about the upcoming device. In a closed-door session with Huawei about the upcoming model, the company briefed us about the Huawei P40 Pro. Of course, the company didn’t give out specific hardware details about the device, but it has given us a solid direction on what to expect from the series on March 26.

Huawei P40 series “Guarantees New Records” In Mobile Photography

Okay, I know this is a bold statement. But it’s not from me, I’m directly quoting the Huawei representative who briefed us about the phone.

Let me put you in the right direction. The Huawei P30 series took smartphone photography to new heights. It came with the brand new custom RYYB sensor instead of a traditional RGB, a first in the smartphone industry. Second, it came with a ‘Periscope Camera’ which offered insane zoom capabilities. Today, P30 Pro’s tech might not feel like much, but back in March 2019, this kind of tech was never before seen on a smartphone camera.

Now coming to 2020 Huawei P40 Pro, what does Huawei mean when it says it ‘Guarantees New Records’ in smartphone photography?

They did give us a clue. The Huawei P40 series will build upon the technologies introduced in the P30 series last year. The Huawei P40 Pro and probably the standard P40 model too will feature the company “Second Generation Persicope Zoom Camera“. The company confirmed this at the meeting.

But what can we expect from the “second-gen” tech? To recall, the Huawei P30 Pro offered 5x optical zoom, up to 10x hybrid zoom and 50x digital zoom.

And from what we heard at the meeting, it looks like the second-generation tech will increase the ‘optical zoom capabilities’ and also improve its hybrid zoom range as well.

Huawei P40 is inspired by the ‘Eagle Eye’

At the briefing, Huawei mentioned how an eagle could spot its prey from nearly 3kms away with great resolution and clarity. That’s what the company is aiming for here. Huawei said that software will also play a major role in the P40 series’ zoom capabilities. This has got us thinking that the company will push the 10x hybrid zoom barrier with the P40 Pro. At present, the top-end flagship smartphones from rival brands all max out at 10x hybrid zoom, and if Huawei manages to increase this range, it will be a new breakthrough in smartphone zoom technology.

AI will also play a huge role in the P40 series. Huawei revealed that the P40 lineup will come with the highest AI capability “never before seen” on a smartphone. The Huawei Kirin 990 5G chip that’s expected to power the P40 series has come out top on AI benchmarks and the company will be looking to take full advantage of this chip on the new lineup.

Huawei is Completely Invested in Its RYYB filter tech

When I asked the Huawei representative if the RYYB tech will make a comeback in the new Huawei P40 series, he said: “Huawei has invested a lot in this tech and wouldn’t want it to go to waste”. This basically means that the P40 series will continue to use a custom sensor with an RYYB filter. To recall, the P30 Pro featured the custom IMX650 RYYB sensor. Rumors state that the new P40 series will have the custom IMX700 Sony sensor with the same RYYB filter. But the company hasn’t confirmed the phone’s camera specifics.

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Huawei P40 Series will Offer ‘New Material’ Options

If you recall, the Huawei P30 series got some really beautiful color options like Aurora and Amber Sunrise. Then the Mate 30 series got these two really cool Vegan Leather variants in orange and forest green colors. The company confirmed that it will add ‘New Material’ options for the Huawei P40 lineup.  Unfortunately, it didn’t talk about what kind of materials to expect. All it said was the company will continue to work on colors, materials, and finish of its smartphones to offer unique options to its users.

Huawei even offered a ‘Hands-on’ experience to attendees, but unfortunately, I couldn’t try it out. A handful of journalists did get to touch and feel the phone that was hidden in a sensory box (see image below). They said that the phone had a large camera bump and the camera housing felt in line with what the leaks had revealed earlier. So this likely means the P40 Pro will have a rectangular camera housing, much like the Galaxy S20 series. Plus, the phone was curved on both sides.

Huawei representatives also talked about how it is building its AppGallery app store for Huawei smartphones. The company revealed that the AppGallery is the third largest app store in the world and is available in over 170+ countries across the globe. The app store has more than 400 million monthly active users right now.

The Huawei P series has always been a camera-centric lineup. And from what we heard from the company recently, the P40 series will have exciting upgrades in the camera department. There are a lot of details we still don’t know about the upcoming device, but hopefully, we can bring you more details before the official launch on March 26!

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ZTE’s Nubia range of smartphone were always famous for their cameras. The newly announced ZTE Nubia Z9 Max and Mini phones too have a great camera and in our recent review, we saw that the 16MP produced amazing results. Of course, ZTE has its own years of research and development put into perfecting its camera technology and in this time, it has acquired relevant patents and rights to use these tech.

However, it looks like the company is not happy with Huawei’s Honor X2 and P8 flagships using a similar tech on their devices. Earlier today, Nubia smartphones revealed via its official Weibo page that the company has decided to sue Huawei for suspected infringement of two of their camera patents.

The company publicly posted two letters sent by its law firm to Huawei informing them about the infringement. Along with the images, the company said the following:

“Nubia phone camera technology has been committed to research and development, and has started to obtain the relevant patents, we strive to promote the development of innovative technology to the mobile phone industry. Faced with a large range of Huawei Technologies Co., plagiarism, we felt it was time to stand up and use the law to maintain order in the industry healthy competition”

According to the letter posted on Weibo, the company has sued Huawei for infringing two patents. First is the “Slow Shutter and Capture technology” and the second one is the “imaging and mobile terminal tech”. The letter also asks Huawei to stop all kinds of manufacturing and sales activity of the devices infringing these patents. The company believes that Honor X2 is already using these two tech and the new P8 flagship could also come under scanner.

So, it looks like ZTE’s Nubia division and Huawei will enter into a patent battle in China. We still haven’t seen any kind of reply from Huawei, but expect more information pretty soon.

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