Earlier this year, we had reported on LG Innotek and Corning working on Liquid Lens technology that could seemingly benefit the smartphone photography. Now, an from the latter firm had touted the various benefits of this new lens technology.

In an interview with TheElec, Frederic Laune, business manager at Corning Varioptic Lenses stated that liquid lens can help with changing local lengths in cameras. The manager also added that the company is looking to expand the applications of this technology in various other industries like the medical and industrial fields. For those unaware, liquid lens is basically filled with liquid materials inside the physical lens that can change the curvature of the lens by using currents and voltages to control the focal length of the camera.

Laune stated that liquid lens can be used to solve the focal length changing issue, which is when the distance between the camera and subject is constantly changing. He said that the new lens technology can basically focus on a particular object even if there were varying distances in between. Conventional lens technology usually had the lens being placed close to the image sensor or further away from it to maintain the focus on the object. However, these mechanical solutions are vulnerable to external shock and increase the power consumption of devices while being slow.

So, liquid lens technology aims to be a power efficient alternative, which is more effective and quicker as well. Furthermore, this is the reason why industrial cameras rarely use these lens solutions, as per the Manager. Liquid lens is also durable against shakes external shocks, making it practical in various fields like augmented reality.

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LG Innotek and Corning are jointly working on a new project. This collaboration between the brands is for the research on a new liquid lens technology, which could potentially bring benefits for the photography aspect of smartphones.

According to TheElec report, the news arrives from patent filings that were recently spotted. Both brands have 50-50 stakes in the nine patents that are related to the liquid lens technology. The core technologies listed in these patents include a liquid lens system, how to control a camera lens (which features the liquid lens), and lens curvature varying instrument. The liquid lens has a vinyl bag shaped lens with liquid material. So, the lens is capable of going in and out of focus depending on the curvature of the liquid that can be changed with a current of voltage.

To put things simply, unlike a conventional lens, the liquid lens does not have to move to control focal length. This would enable smartphone makers to make thinner camera modules since the liquid lens changes as per the requirements and does not physically move. Furthermore, it could even bring various improvements in the camera performance of smartphones as well.

The new technology could potentially offer faster and more accurate focusing abilities, which is useful in video captures. On the other hand, the technology could also enable OEMs to develop better stabilization for cameras, which, in turn, would lead to clearer low light images as well. Unfortunately, this technology has yet to be adopted commercially by any brand as of right now, so stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available regarding this matter.

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Xiaomi announced the Mi MIX Fold on Day 2 of its Mega Launch. The new Mi MIX device is its first foldable, but that is not the only “first” title it has. It is also the first foldable powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor, the first phone with a liquid lens camera, and the first Xiaomi phone with an in-house image processing chip.

Mi MIX Fold Design

The Mi MIX Fold has an inward folding design like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Huawei Mate X2. It is covered in Gorilla Glass 5 but has a special ceramic edition with a textured back. This special edition also has a gold middle frame and volume buttons and a special laser engraving on the back.

Xiaomi has settled for a 4:3 aspect ratio for the inner display while the outer display has a 27:9 aspect ratio, thus giving the device in its folded state an elongated form factor akin to some Sony phones. This cover display also has a punch hole at the top left corner of the screen for a camera for video calls and selfies.

For the rear design, Xiaomi has modified the design of the Mi 10 Ultra. Rather than an elongated camera housing, it is much shorter but wider and protrudes but not as much as the Mi 11 Ultra.

Mi MIX Fold Specifications

The main foldable display of the MIX Fold is an 8.01-inch WQHD+ OLED panel with a 4:3 aspect ratio. That extra 0.1 inch earns it the title of the foldable with the largest main display as it is just a tiny bit larger than the Huawei Mate X2’s 8-inch display. Xiaomi’s foldable is also the first with a Dolby Vision display.

There are no holes or notches on the main screen neither does it have a high refresh rate like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Huawei Mate X2. The 1 billion color display has a DCI-P3 color gamut, a 4,300,000:1 color contrast ratio, and a JNCD value and Delta E value of 0.29 and 0.35 respectively

The cover display is a 6.52-inch AMOLED (2520 x 840) HD+ screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 180Hz touch sampling rate. It has a 27:9 aspect ratio, a maximum brightness of 900 nits, and HDR10+. Xiaomi says both displays use an in-house algorithm to generate images and videos in super-resolution. They are capable of doubling the resolution of images from 720p to 1440p and the resolution of videos from 480p to 1440p.

Along with the Snapdragon 888 processor, you get up to 16GB of LPPDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. There is no support for storage expansion, so what you buy is what you are stuck with. There is a butterfly-type cooling system that uses a combination of large-area VC liquid cooling, thermal gel, and multiple layers of graphite sheets for heat dissipation

Just like the Mi 11 series (excluding the Mi 11 Lite), the Mi MIX Fold has Harman Kardon tuned speakers. There are quad speakers – two on each side of the screen and they are said to be 40% louder than the Mi 10 Pro thanks to a 15V Smart PA. The speakers can also create a 3D spatial audio experience using Xiaomi’s own quad-speaker array algorithm.

The Mi MIX Fold has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that doubles as the power button, NFC, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 with support for AAC, LDAC, and LHDC.

The Mi MIX Fold packs a 5020mAh battery (dual battery design – 2460mAh + 2560mAh), the largest in a foldable phone, and also supports 67W fast wired charging, the fastest on a foldable phone. Xiaomi says users will be able to charge the phone from empty to full in just 37 minutes. It also supports Quick Charge 4+ and Power Delivery 3.0 but doesn’t support wireless charging.

Xiaomi ships the Mi MIX Fold with MIUI 12 based on Android 10 (that is what the spec sheet says) and it has features that make using it a breeze. You can run multiple apps at the same time side-by-side, drag and drop content from one screen to another, use a parallel windows mode, and also switch to a desktop mode.

Mi MIX Fold Cameras and Surge C1 Image Sensing Processor

The Mi MIX Fold has three rear cameras. The main camera is a 108MP HM2 sensor with a 7P lens. It is paired with an 8MP camera with a liquid lens that allows it to double as a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and up to 30x telephoto zoom and also as a macro camera with a focus distance of 3CM. The third camera is a 13MP f/2.4 123° ultrawide angle camera. The cover display is home to a 20MP front-facing camera.

The Surge C1 Image Sensing Processor provides an improved 3A algorithm and low-light focus capabilities that result in more accurate autofocus, autoexposure, and auto white balance. Xiaomi says the chip provides exceptionally high performance while using low CPU and storage space.

Mi MIX Fold Price

The Mi MIX Fold is available in three variants. The 12GB RAM + 256GB version is priced at ¥9999 (~$1521) and a 12GB RAM + 512GB version that has a ¥10999 (~$1673) price tag. The Ceramic Special Edition which has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is ¥12,999 (~$1976).

Both versions will be available for pre-order starting today and will go on sale on April 16 in China. There is no news of an international release.

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The upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix series smartphone has just been teased by the company. As per recent Weibo posts, a Chinese microblogging website, the device will feature a liquid lens on its rear camera module.

In the recent teasers (1,2) on the social media platform, the latest Mi Mix series device will feature a camera with a liquid lens. For those unaware, this lens technology, as the name implies, features a layer of liquid that enables its focus and focal length to change depending on the electrical voltage that is applied on this layer. Through this, the Chinese tech giant will be able to have one camera of the Mi Mix handset capable of taking telephoto to even macro shots as well.

Furthermore, its camera will also be able to offer fast auto focus as well. The new device is expected to be unveiled on 29th March 2021. While liquid lens isn’t a new technology, it is more commonly used in industrial applications where traditional lenses might wear out quickly due to moving mechanical parts. Although, due to their compact size, the lens technology has become appealing prospect for smartphone vendors in recent times.

Technically, a single camera sensor with a liquid lens can theoretically be capable of serving the purpose of various kinds of cameras, which are usually found on the rear of most flagship smartphone of today. Notably, even Huawei has been reportedly been planning on using liquid lens technology for its smartphones as well. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available.

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The Huawei Mate 40 series is highly anticipated. The series is known for bringing cutting-edge technology and this year will be no different. A leaker has revealed some key specs of the upcoming phones and it reveals that Huawei’s liquid lens camera technology will finally be commercially available.

The source of the leak is Teme (@RODENT950) who is known for his Huawei-related leaks. In a tweet posted a few days ago, he revealed the key specs of two of the phones in the series with the codenames “Ocean” and “Noah”.

According to him, “Ocean” which we believe is the standard Mate 40, will have a 6.67-inch curved display supplied by LG Display. The screen is said to have a 90Hz refresh rate. For its cameras, there is a 50MP main sensor paired with a 20MP ultrawide angle camera and an 8MP telephoto camera. The phone also has a laser autofocus module.

The other device which is codenamed “Noah” should be the Mate 40 Pro/Mate 40 Pro+. It is said to have a waterfall display that will be supplied by both LG Display and BOE. Just like the standard version, it will also have a 90Hz refresh rate, and under the hood is a Kirin 9000 processor.

Ocean:
6.67" curved lg display 90hz
50+20 UW+8 tele+L-AF
Noah:
Waterfall lg/boe display 90hz
Kirin9000
50 w liquid lens tech+80 UW Cine+periscope+tof
Battery capacities
4300, 4600 & 5000 mAh
Pill hole w 3D face id

— Teme (特米) (@RODENT950) August 14, 2020

For its cameras, the phone will also have a 50MP sensor with liquid lens technology. The liquid lens technology was patented by Huawei a few months ago. The technology allows for faster autofocus and better stabilization. Earlier reports thought that the feature will not appear in a phone until next year when the Huawei P50 launches but it appears Huawei already had it ready for the Mate 40 series before it was granted the patent. The leaker does say he doesn’t think the technology is ready for mass production, so we advise you to take the leak with a pinch of salt.

Alongside the 50MP sensor is an 80MP ultrawide angle Cine camera, a periscope lens, and a ToF sensor. The battery capacities for the Mate 40 series are also revealed as 4300mAh, 4600mAh, and 5000mAh. These should be for the Mate 40, Mate 40 Pro, and the Mate 40 Pro Plus respectively. The leak also mentions that the phone(s) has a pill-shaped hole in the display with (3D) Face ID.

UP NEXT: [Leak] Here’s the list of new Huawei and Honor smartphones/laptops launching in Europe

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Huawei is well-known for its smartphone photography for the past few years. Every year the company brings new innovations in this category. This year’s Huawei P40 series features the largest CMOS sensor on any phone. Now, a patent reveals the company to be working on liquid lens technology.

According to the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) portal, Huawei had filed a patent related to liquid lens camera module on December 25, 2019. The same has been approved on April 7, 2020.

As per the information available on portal, the patent includes a moving motor, camera placeholder, and electronic hardware to move the liquid lens.

As Huawei Central explains a stator is moved in the direction of the optical axis with the help of the motor. This stator is further connected with a liquid lens via spring. There’s also a limiter that Limits the connected spring in the direction of the optical axis when the altitude range changes.

This patented camera module for the liquid lens improves the stability and reliability of the motor under harsh conditions like impact or drop.

One might be wondering why Huawei has to implement such complex camera module into a smartphone. The answer is liquid lens offers faster autofocus and better stabilization. It takes less space than other lens and can eliminate the need for additional TOF sensor.

Since the patent has been only approved last week, we can expect this tech in Huawei P50 series in 2021 rather than Mate 40 series whose design might have been already finalized.

UP NEXT: Huawei may launch a triple camera phone with liquid lens technology this year

(Via)

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